Five sailors were reported missing and 10 others injured after a US strike hit an Iranian cargo vessel near the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman late Thursday, according to an Iranian official.

Mohammad Radmehr, governor of Minab county in southern Iran, said a civilian cargo vessel belonging to residents of the Kolahi district in Minab was struck by the United States near the strategic waterway, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.

The vessel caught fire after being hit in waters off Minab county, he said.

Radmehr said 15 sailors were aboard the vessel at the time of the incident.

“The injured sailors have been transferred to hospital, while local groups and rescue teams are trying to determine the fate of the remaining sailors,” he added.

The Iranian official described the targeting of commercial vessels as a sign of what he called the “desperation” of the enemy.

The incident came days after Iranian media reported that US naval forces targeted what Washington described as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps missile boats in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian outlets later claimed the vessels were civilian fishing and cargo boats. (AA)