A missile struck an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden in a suspected attack by the Houthis in Yemen, authorities said Sunday.
The missile hit the ship’s forward station, 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 center similarly reported the attack and fire late Saturday in the same area off Aden, saying “damage control is underway.”
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Houthis fire a missile near the Yemeni border with Saudi Arabia in a military drill last January
(Photo: EPA)
Suspicion for the attack immediately fell on the Houthis. The Houthis did not immediately claim the assault, though it can sometimes take hours or even days for them to acknowledge their attacks.
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 Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, killed three sailors, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration. A U.S.-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 at 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 U.S.-led coalition. The Houthis also recently sentenced 44 people to death.