The
Houthis, linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict, have intensified attacks on
shipping. Recent strikes include over 50 attacks, with the US-led coalition
targeting the Houthis in response.
A missile attack by Yemen's Houthi
rebels hit an Antigua- and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship in
the Gulf of Aden, the latest assault on shipping in the region.
The missile hit the ship's forward station late Saturday, 8 June, starting a
fire that those on board later put out, the private security firm Ambrey said.
A second missile fired at the ship missed and people "on board small boats
in the vicinity opened fire on the ship during the incident," Ambrey
added, though no one was hurt onboard.
The British military's United
Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre similarly reported the attack and fire
in the same area off Aden, saying "damage control is underway."
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack in a
prerecorded video message Sunday, saying the vessel had been targeted with both
missiles and drones. He identified the vessel as the Norderney, a ship that
tracking data analysed showed was still in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday
afternoon.
Saree
also claimed unreported attacks on a warship and another vessel in the Arabian
Sea, without providing any evidence to support his claim. The Houthis have
exaggerated some of their attacks since launching their campaign.
The Houthis, who seized Yemen's capital nearly a decade ago and have been
fighting a Saudi-led coalition since shortly after, have been targeting
shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza
Strip. They say the attacks are aimed at
stopping the war and supporting the Palestinians, though the attacks often
target vessels that have nothing to do with the conflict.
The war in Gaza has killed more than
36,000 Palestinians there, while hundreds of others have been killed in Israeli
operations in the West Bank. It began after Hamas-led militants attacked
Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, killed three
sailors, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the US
maritime administration. A US-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis
since January, with a series of strikes May 30 killing at least 16 people and
wounding 42 others, the rebels say.
But while gaining more attention internationally, the secretive group has
cracked down on dissent at home. Eleven Yemeni employees of United Nations
agencies and others working for aid groups have been detained by the Houthis
under unclear circumstances, as the rebels face increasing financial pressure
and airstrikes from the US-led coalition. The
rebels also recently sentenced 44 people to death.