Image used for representational purpose only. | Photo credit: AFP
Iran-backed Yemen Houthi rebels on Saturday said they had attacked a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, while a multinational naval force said two missiles exploded near a Liberian-flagged vessel.
“The Yemeni armed forces carried out a military operation targeting the ship (Groton) in the Gulf of Aden,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Sari said in a televised statement.
He said the ship had come under attack and this was the second time it had been attacked after a similar incident on August 3.
Yemeni rebels have launched a campaign against international ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which they say shows solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel–Hamas War in the Gaza Strip,
Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), operated by the Western naval coalition, said the Groton was targeted by two ballistic missiles while it was 130 nautical miles east of Aden.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency, run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said the captain reported all crew were safe and that the Groton was “proceeding to the next port”.
Houthi attacks targeting Israeli-allied ships have disrupted traffic in the maritime region, which is vital for global trade.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command said on Saturday that American forces destroyed a Houthi drone and an unmanned surface vessel in rebel-controlled areas of Yemen in the past 24 hours.
“It was determined that these systems present a clear and imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces,” Centcom said in a statement on the incident.