What are Canadian-made sniper rifles doing in Yemen, Sudan and Libya — despite Canadian arms sanctions on all three? The CBC, Bellingcat and CIR investigate. 🧵 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadian-sniper-rifles-openly-flaunted-in-yemen-sudan-libya-despite-arms-sanctions-9.7239775

The cost to seafarers caught in conflict is too often overlooked. I am proud to have contributed to Airwars' work documenting the impact of the US-Iran-Israel conflict on civilian mariners. The maritime space is just one aspect of a conflict where civilian harm spanned the region.

19 June Strait of Hormuz update: Confirmed Naval Mine NAVAREA IX Warning (201/26) 192130 UTC JUN 26: STRAIT OF HORMUZ BA CHARTS 2851, 2888, 3172 AND OMAN CHART OM100 A CONFIRMED MINE REPORTED IN POSITION 26-24.58N 056-20.67E (.) hydrography.paknavy.gov.pk/navarea-ix-warnings/

Since 2 September 2025, the United States has disclosed that its military has: 🔸 struck 66 vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific 🔸 killing 194 people 🔸 with 22 survivors, only 3 rescued The criteria and evidence for targeting remain classified. www.southcom.mil/News/PressRe...

While U.S. Southern Command focuses on lethal strikes against small vessels suspected of smuggling cocaine, a new drug has entered US markets — and Ohio appears to be the epicenter. Bellingcat investigates.

"The Sea Trident SL-1000 is being shown at the Eurosatory 2026 defence exhibition in Paris. Reports indicate that it is intended for strike as well as logistics and neutralizing other underwater vehicles."

Master of tanker that attempted to dodge US interdiction pleads guilty, faces up to 5 years' imprisonment and deportation to the Republic of Georgia. Source: www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/master-shadow-fleet-tanker-pleads-guilty-dc-evading-us-coast-guard-during-weeks-long

'I will come home safely': Indian sailor's last words to wife before a US strike killed him Wednesday's attack by the US Central Command on MT SETTEBELLO resulted in the deaths of three civilian seafarers. Patnala Suresh, husband, father of two, was one of them. www.bbc.com/news/article...

🧵 On 6 June, Russia attacked four civilian cargo ships in Ukraine's Black Sea corridor — then struck the boats that came to rescue the crews. Ukraine says two rescuers were killed and several wounded, their marked rescue craft left ablaze. A "double tap" at sea — a thread. 👇

Trump disclose targeted killing of Niño Guerrero by US Southern Command, leader of Tren De Aragua with the support of the Venezuelan government. Source: truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...

"They had nothing to do with the conflict. Such attacks on neutral shipping endanger lives & global trade....Seafarers deserve safety, not to be collateral." Indian Seafarers Union on US attack on MT SETTEBELLO this week, which killed three. Source: x.com/FSUIINDIA/status/2065349042427605114

The United Nations news portal highlighted the tragic loss of life of three Indian seafarers Tuesday in a blockade enforcement action by the United States. news.un.org/en/story/202...

India summons U.S. Chargé d’Affaires regarding strikes on Indian crewed vessels. Tuesday's strike on the MT SETTEBELLO (IMO 9162916) resulted in the deaths of three Indian seafarers. www.mea.gov.in/press-releases?dtl/41290/US_Charg_dAffaires_summoned_by_the_Ministry_of_External_Affairs

Update on yesterday's attack by US CENTCOM on the Palau-flagged MT Settebello (IMO: (IMO: 9162916) timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle...

US CENTCOM targets vessel in enforcement of blockade on Iranian ports - 3 Indian crew members missing, 1 Injured The vessel appears to be the Palau flagged SETTEBELLO (IMO: 9162916). Source: www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PUBLIC... 🧵 1 of 7 @mercoglianos.bsky.social

New information on the 2 September 2025 maritime strike by the US that killed 11 people: theintercept.com/2026/06/10/t...

The Pentagon has redesignated the Pentagon Press Office a SCIF (a highly classified and restricted space) for DoD speechwriters. As such, no journalists allowed. Acting press secretary declares "This is the most transparent War Department in history." Source: x.com/JoelValdezDO...

Suniel and team Oceaniek is back, previously known for seafarer and vessel registration fraud. Banned in India for seafarer training. Previously featured at @bellingcat.com Now hosting a job fair, attracting people to their new training programmes: astranavismaritime.com & mekongmarineacademy.com

Overnight, US Southern Command disclosed the killing of three individuals in the seventh maritime strike in May. Source: x.com/Southcom/status/2060905355584913759

⚠️ US Disables Gambia-Flagged, UAE-Owned Cargo Vessel Lian Star (IMO: 9072692) with Hellfire Missile Crew nationality and status are not currently known. Source: x.com/CENTCOM/status/2060782333209575847 @mercoglianos.bsky.social @justsecurity.org 🧵 1 of 3

Oman issues warning based on the "detection of a floating object suspected to be a sea mine west of the coastal passage area in the Strait of Hormuz within Omani territorial waters" Source: x.com/OMAN_MSC/status/2060687665905988053 @mercoglianos.bsky.social @covertshores.bsky.social

US SOUTHCOM has disclosed a 6th maritime strike in May alone. The known death toll from the 9-month campaign now reaches 200. Source: x.com/Southcom/sta... @bcfinucane.bsky.social

Russia Sends Arctic LNG 2 Cargo East Along Northern Sea Route in Rare May Voyage gcaptain.com/russia-sends...

US Mission creep in real time: ✅ Never-ending boat strikes ✅ Maduro raid ✅ Joint strikes with Ecuador ✅ Now, joint strikes with Guatemala. What's next? Cuba? Mexico? War without end for the Americas. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/world/americas/guatemala-us-joint-strikes.html

South Korea releases photos from investigation of the attack on the HMM cargo ship Namu (IMO: 1039292), which was struck by Iranian anti ship missiles on May 4th. Summary (Korean): www.newspim.com/news/view/20... @easybakeovensz.bsky.social @mercoglianos.bsky.social @covertshores.bsky.social

"Deny, deflect, delay" — Piers Morgan on whether the US is running the IDF's Gaza playbook three months after the Minab and Lamerd school strikes. With NYT Visual Investigations' Malachy Browne and Christiaan Triebert (ex-Bellingcat, ex-Airwars), www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHCJ...

⚓ Signs of the Times: Maritime Edition ⚓ USVs and UAVs are now standard kit across multiple navies and non-state actors — so NCIS putting out a PSA isn't shocking. Still worth flagging. Source: x.com/RealNCIS/status/2058172748434739466 @covertshores.bsky.social @mercoglianos.bsky.social

US Department of Defense Inspector General to review US maritime strikes in the Western Hemisphere www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

US Treasury Secretary announces second extension of Russian sanctions waiver to mitigate impact of Strait of Hormuz disruption. Source: x.com/SecScottBessent/status/2056411947982115207

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRAN), the press association of the nonprofit organization Human Rights Activists (HRA) in Iran, releases 238 page report on the armed conflict between the United States/Israel and Iran that began on 28 February 2026. 🧵 1 of 4 www.hra-iran.org/between-miss...

US Inspector General Report: DoD misses every civilian protection goal it set itself. The database that could verify US strikes on Iranian schools and hospitals? Defunded. media.defense.gov/2026/May/14/...

USCG Cutter Tahoma stopped 3 drug vessels off Colombia, used warning shots, then aerial sniper fire on engines to halt one non-compliant boat — smugglers jumped, all were rescued. ~$45.8M cocaine seized. Escalation of force. Zero deaths. Source: www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releas...

CENTCOM commander on Iran today: Cooper: There is one active civilian casualty investigation from the 13,629 munitions Gillibrand: So then how do you explain the publicly available information that 22 schools have been hit and multiple hospitals? Cooper: There's no way we can corroborate that

Reports of missing children and 'evaporated' bodies reveal a widening pattern of erasure in Gaza, where entire families are killed, lost under rubble or reduced to biological traces

US SOUTHCOM celebrates a successfu counter narcotics interdiction at sea. "We applaud our security partners in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for their recent seizure of more than 435 kg of cocaine and arrest of two suspects" No one was killed in the operation. source: x.com/Southcom/sta...

US Army soldier at Fort Bragg was charged with using classified info about the Jan. 3 US raid that captured Maduro, Venezuela's president, to make wagers on Polymarket....a site where you bet on real-world events. The soldier profited $409,881. www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr...

The US has killed 163 people in 47 strikes on small vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific before April 1, 2026. Using Brown University's analysis that breaks out to: Low end: ~ $267,870 per strike High end: ~$1,071,480 per strike Source: costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/papers/boats...

Apple patches iOS security flaw that allowed Signal message notification content to be retrieved by a sophisticated actor with physical access to a device - even after the app had been deleted. Signal is a secure messaging app widely used by journalists, human rights activists, and whistleblowers.

Center for Strategic and International studies analysis of the estimated depletion of key US munition stockpiles during the Iran conflict: www.csis.org/analysis/las...

@theintercept.com flags an undocumented revision to the Pentagon's casualty numbers for US service members killed or wounded in the conflict with Iran. On Monday, the count was 428. On Tuesday, the count dropped to 413. theintercept.com/2026/04/22/i...

Iranian media posts video of today's boarding/seizure of MSC FRANCESCA (IMO: 9401116) and EPAMINONDAS (IMO: 9153862) - both cargo ships. Source: t.me/Tasnimnews/4... @mercoglianos.bsky.social @covertshores.bsky.social

Rubio has prioritized his pet ideological project in Latin America and his presidential ambitions—both of which require not antagonizing Trump. Never mind his responsibilities as SecState and APNSA.

Uncertain times for shipping: Overnight, two vessels of container shipping giant COSCO appeared to attempt to transit the Strait of Hormuz, only to turn around at Larak Island, which is thought to be an inspection point for vessels that have secured safe passage. Source: x.com/MarineTraffi...

One month into the Iran conflict, what is the civilian cost? The Washington Post shares finding from a joint report by Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), Airwars, and the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC). @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Bellingcat reports the US appears to have used Gator scatterable mines over Kafari, a village near Shiraz. Several killed according to Iranian media. These are area denial weapons that dispense submunitions across a wide zone. Civilians live in that zone. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

Steven Umana, Regional Operations Coordinator, Costa Rican Red Cross on the survivor of Thursday's maritime strike by US Southcom: “A person with severe burns and significant chest trauma is being transported in critical condition to Golfito Hospital."

SOUTHCOM attacked another boat in the Pacific Ocean. Two civilians were killed. One was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf and transferred to the Costa Rican Coast Guard. theintercept.com/2025/11/17/t...

US Secretary of Defense directs armed services to conduct "ruthless no excuses review" of military legal counsel with aim to streamline and fast implementation. Source: x.com/secwar/statu... @justsecurity.org

Bellingcat has geolocated eight videos showing US Tomahawks cruise missiles in Iraq heading towards Iran. On Tuesday Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and stressed that Iraqi airspace and territory should not be used.