UAE frees Qatari boat seized last week for violating its territorial waters

The United Arab Emirates on Monday released a Qatari naval vessel and four persons, including an Indian national, who were on board when it was detained last week for violating UAE's territorial waters, officials said. "The vessel, flying the Qatari flag, had entered UAE territorial waters on April 30," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ship and the four persons on board -- two military personnel from Qatar and one from Palestine and a private Indian national -- were released, the statement said. "The four were First Lieutenant Mohammed Hassem Al Heil and Lance Corporal Saeed Nasser Al Marri, both Qatari nationals, Lance Corporal Mohammed Riyad Al Beltaji, a Palestinian national, and private Fayez Talkoum, an Indian national," it said.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Qatar foreign ministry said the ship was carrying out routine drills in Qatari territorial waters when it suffered a technical malfunction and drifted towards UAE territorial waters. Accusing Doha of supporting radical Islamist groups, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, has cut all diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017. Doha has repeatedly denied the charges.