Two cruise missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck a bulk cargo service within the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, severely injuring a sailor who was evacuated by American forces, the U.S. navy reported.
The Houthis have focused vessels within the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, saying the assaults are in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s assaults on Gaza which have killed over 37,000 Palestinians, principally girls and youngsters.
Despite inflicting vital disruptions to worldwide delivery, casualties have been rare.
The M/V Verbena – a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated ship – “reported harm and subsequent fires on board.
The crew continues to struggle the hearth. One civilian mariner was severely injured in the course of the assault,” the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) mentioned in an announcement.
“Aircraft from USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) medically evacuated the injured mariner to a partner force ship nearby for medical attention,” CENTCOM mentioned.
“This continued reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
The Houthis on Thursday mentioned they’d carried out assaults on three ships inside the previous 24 hours, together with the Verbena, “in retaliation to the crimes committed against our people in the Gaza Strip, and in response to the American-British aggression against our country.”
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), in the meantime, reported an explosion near a service provider vessel within the Red Sea about 80 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s rebel-held Hodeida port, with no harm or casualties.
CENTCOM later mentioned that over the earlier 24 hours, it had destroyed an air protection sensor, two patrol boats, and nautical and aerial drones belonging to the Houthis.
The Houthis, who’re at warfare with a Saudi-led coalition after ousting the federal government from Sanaa in 2014, have launched scores of drone and missile assaults on delivery vessels within the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November.
The first reported fatalities from the assaults on ships occurred within the Gulf of Aden in March.
On Wednesday, the Houthis struck the Tutor, a Liberian-flagged bulk service, southwest of Hodeida. They claimed to have used seaborne and aerial drones in addition to ballistic missiles.
CENTCOM mentioned on the time that the Tutor had been hit by a Houthi “unmanned surface vessel” that “caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room.”
On Thursday, CENTCOM accused the Houthis of claiming to behave “on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza, and yet they are targeting and threatening the lives of third-country nationals who have nothing to do with the conflict.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com