Human Torpedo Squads Attacked South Korean Ship

Human torpedoes officially have been blamed for the sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship that went down March 26, leaving 46 members of its crew dead.

Military sources say the attack was carried out by a North Korean unit of 13 specially trained commandos and modified mini-submarines, each of which is armed with torpedoes carrying a 200-kilogram warhead.

According to SiFy News, "the small vessels are taken so close to the target that their torpedoes or explosives blow up both the target and the attackers," making for a modern-day kamikaze attack. However, the submarines also can be timed to explode after the pilot escapes from the vessel.

In the case of the Cheonan attack, experts say the explosion occurred outside the ship's hull, ruling out the possibility of an accident. This led government officials to point the finger at North Korea, which may have been retaliating for a skirmish between the two nations in November.

It's unclear whether the attackers died in the explosion or were able to escape. The image above shows the hull resurfacing earlier today as salvage teams gather further evidence.