Four suspected Houthi attacks target ship in Yemen, authorities say

Four suspected attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait that links the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, including one that saw private security guards shoot down and destroy a bomb-laden drone, they said the authorities. said Friday.

The Houthis did not immediately claim the attacks, although they are following a months-long rebel campaign targeting shipping through the Red Sea corridor in connection with the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Since November, Houthi attacks have disrupted the $1 trillion in goods that flow through the region annually, also sparking the most intense fighting the US Navy has seen since World War II.

After a recent two-week hiatus, their attacks resumed following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, amid concerns of a wider regional war. Iran supports the Houthis as part of what it calls a regional “Axis of Resistance.”

“Operations are ongoing – our operations into Occupied Palestine to target the Israeli enemy, our operations at sea, the inevitable future response as well as coordination with the Axis in any joint operations,” Houthi secret leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi warned. in a speech on Thursday. “The decision to respond is a collective decision, axis-wide and each front individually.”

In the first attack, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near the oil tanker Delta Blue on Thursday, according to the British military’s Merchant Marine Operations Center in the United Kingdom. Two smaller craft, with men on board wearing white and yellow raincoats, fired the RPG, UKMTO said.

The second attack took place early on Friday, with a missile “exploding in close proximity to the ship”, UKMTO said. “Ship and crew are reported safe.”

Private security firm Ambrey reported that the ship was hit by a drone that caused no injuries or physical damage.

Then came the third drone strike, where the private security guards on board “opened fire and (were) able to successfully destroy the vehicle,” Ambrey said. The UKMTO later also reported the incident, which happened as the vessel traveled north in the Red Sea.

A fourth attack saw another suspected Houthi missile splash into the water near the ship, according to the Joint Maritime Intelligence Center, a multinational organization overseen by the US Navy.

Although the Houthis did not immediately claim the attacks, it can sometimes take hours or even days to acknowledge their attacks. They also claimed others that apparently didn’t happen.

The Houthis have targeted more than 70 ships with missiles and drones in a campaign that has killed four sailors since the Gaza war began in October. They have captured one ship and sunk two since then. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or shot down before reaching their targets.

The rebels say their attacks are targeting ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain as part of a campaign they say is aimed at forcing an end to the war. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis have launched drones and missiles at Israel, including an attack on July 19 that killed one person and wounded 10 others in Tel Aviv. Israel responded the next day with airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeida that hit fuel depots and power stations, killing and wounding a number of people, the rebels said.

After the strikes, the Houthis halted their attacks until Saturday, when they hit a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, US Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets arrived in the Middle East from a base in the United Kingdom, authorities said Thursday.

US Central Command posted images of the fighters online, saying their presence in the region was “to address threats posed by Iran and Iran-backed groups”.

The US declined to say where the aircraft landed because of host nation sensitivities.

Central Command later said it destroyed two Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles and a Houthi ground control station, as well as a drone in the Red Sea.

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