Dubai, United Arab Emirates — A commercial ship crossing the Red Sea was attacked multiple times on Wednesday, leaving the vessel “out of control” in an attack suspected to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebelsthe British military said. There were few details about the attack, but it appeared to be the latest in a months-long series of attacks by the Houthis. campaign targeting commercial and military vessels in what the group said is a response to the current situation War between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Men aboard small boats opened fire with small arms, the British military’s Maritime Commercial Operations Centre said. The ship was also hit by three projectiles, it added.
“The vessel reported out of control,” UKMTO said, presumably meaning it had lost all power. “No casualties were reported.”
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, although it sometimes takes hours or even days for them to acknowledge their attacks.
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So far, the group has sunk two ships, the most recent being a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, the Tutor, which sank in June. No one was killed in that attack, but the sinking ship reportedly severed several undersea communications cables.
The first ship sunk by a Houthi attack was a British ship hit by a missile in early March. U.S. officials said a Houthi missile attack on another commercial vesselin the Gulf of Aden, also in March, killed at least three people and injured four others.
The attacks prompted a coordinated military response from the United States and Britain, which Houthi infrastructure bombed in Yemen for months and shot down dozens of drones and missiles launched by the Houthis, but failed to stem attacks in vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis see the attacks as a direct response to the war between Israel and Hamas. The Yemeni rebels are backed by Iran, like Hamas. accused Iran In December, Iranian authorities accused the Houthis of being “deeply involved” in attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Officials in Tehran deny responsibility, insisting that the Houthis and other groups operating in the region with Iranian support – often called “terrorist groups” – are groups operating in the region with Iranian support. agents – plan and act autonomously.
In July, the Houthis declared a “new phase” in their operations with a first attack. Drone attack on IsraelA man was killed when drones loaded with explosives crashed into Tel Aviv in an unprecedented attack by the group.
Israel quickly retaliated with strikes targeting Houthi-controlled energy infrastructure in the port city of Hodeida.
