Yemen's rebels target Singapore-flagged ship in Gulf of Aden
The attack on Friday targeted the bulk carrier Propel Fortune, which continued on its way, according to the United States military's Central Command
AP
Dubai, 9 March
An attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels
set off explosions ahead of a Singapore-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden,
authorities said, the latest in a campaign of assaults by the Iranian-backed
group over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The attack on Friday targeted the
bulk carrier Propel Fortune, which continued on its way, according to the
United States military's Central Command. “The missiles did not impact the
vessel,” the US military said. “There were no injuries or damages reported.”
The Houthis said Saturday they were
behind the attack. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed
that along with targeting the Propel Fortune Attack, the Houthi forces also
launched 37 drones targeting American warships.
American officials said early
Saturday that the US Navy, allied warships and aircraft have shot down 15
bomb-carrying Houthi drones in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Friday's attack on Propel Fortune
came after a Houthi missile struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on
Wednesday, killing three of its crew members and forcing survivors to abandon
the vessel.
That was the first fatal strike in
the Houthi's campaign over the war in Gaza. The Houthis describe the attacks as
trying to pressure Israel into stopping the war, but their targets increasingly
have little or nothing to do with the conflict.
Other recent Houthi actions include
an attack in February on a fertiliser-carrying cargo ship, the Rubymar, which
sank on Saturday after drifting for several days, and the downing of an
American drone worth tens of millions of dollars.
The US also conducted airstrikes
Friday that it said destroyed two Houthi truck-mounted anti-ship missiles in
Yemen. The rebels did not directly acknowledge any destruction from those
strikes.
The Houthis have held northern
Yemen and the country's capital of Sanaa since 2014. They've battled a
Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a long-stalemated civil war in the Arab
world's most impoverished country.
Since the US began its airstrike
campaign in January, the Houthis have acknowledged the killing of at least 22
of its fighters. One civilian has also been reported killed.
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *