DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels It targeted a ship in the Red Sea on Monday. New US aircraft carrier They approached the region to ensure security for a key international trade route that has been under attack since war broke out between Israel and Hamas nine months ago.
British and US officials said three small Houthi boats – two with crew and one unmanned – attacked the Panamanian-flagged, Israeli-owned MT Bentley I off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen.
“The unmanned small vessel reportedly collided with the vessel twice and two manned small vessels opened fire on the vessel,” the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported. “The vessels took self-defence measures and after 15 minutes the small vessels called off the attack.”
The captain then reported that three separate missile attacks had detonated in close proximity to the ship.
In a separate incident off the same coast late Monday afternoon, the Liberian-flagged, Marshall Islands-owned oil tanker MT Chios Lion was attacked by a Houthi drone, “causing a collision on its port side resulting in damage and light smoke,” UKMTO said.
In an alert to mariners, the UK Shipping Authority said both vessels and all crew were reported safe.
Late on Monday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Bentley 1 and Chios Lion.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the attack early Tuesday and identified the ship’s name and flag.
“Continued reckless actions by the Iranian-backed Houthis threaten regional stability and endanger the lives of sailors in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Central Command said in a statement. “While the Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, they are targeting and threatening the lives of nationals of third countries that have no connection to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.”
Also on Monday, Central Command said U.S. forces had destroyed five Houthi drones, three over the Red Sea and two in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is approaching the Middle East. US Navy aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower He spent several months in the Red Sea fighting the Houthis.
During the operation, rebels attacked more than 70 ships with missiles and drones, killing four sailors. One ship was seized and 2 ships sunk Starting in November.
The number of Houthi attacks on commercial ships rose in June to levels not seen since December, according to the Joint Maritime Intelligence Center, a coalition overseen by the U.S. Navy. U.S.-led airstrikes have been targeting the Houthis since January. May 30th strike series The rebels said at least 16 people were killed and 42 were wounded.
The Houthis say they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the US and Britain as part of their support for the militant group Hamas in the war against Israel, but many of the ships they have attacked have little or no connection to the war, including some bound for Iran, which supports the Houthis.
Last week, the Houthis said they fired a missile at a U.S.-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Aden, in what officials said was the longest-range attack yet by rebels on a U.S.-flagged vessel near the Arabian Sea. JMIC identified the vessel as the Maersk Sentosa. Danish company Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, confirmed to The Associated Press that one of its ships had been targeted.
