On Wednesday, the United States vowed to “hold accountable” the Yemeni Houthi group for a strike that targeted a cargo tanker that resulted in two deaths, likely to be the first two people whose lives were claimed by Houthi attacks on ships.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, “We will continue to hold them accountable. We call on governments around the world to do the same.”
The Houthi missile caused “significant damage” to the Liberian-owned ship flying the Barbados flag, according to a US military official.
The source added, “The crew reported at least two dead, six wounded crew members, and the ship was abandoned.”
The official stated that the missile was the fifth anti-ship missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis within two days, noting that two (including the last) hit two commercial ships, while a third was shot down by an American destroyer.
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Al-Houthi claims the attack
The Yemeni Houthi group announced that it targeted the cargo ship “True Confidence” in the Gulf of Aden with missiles.
The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a statement broadcast on television, “The targeting operation came after the ship’s crew rejected warning messages from the Yemeni naval forces.”
Earlier on Wednesday, a shipping source said that three crew members of the bulk cargo ship “True Confidence” were lost and four others were severely burned, after the ship was damaged off the coast of Yemen.
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Report of an explosion
The British Maritime Security Agency, Ambrey, reported that it had received a report of an “explosion” near a cargo ship flying the Barbados flag, 57 nautical miles southwest of Aden in Yemen.
“A nearby ship reported an explosion near the US-owned, Barbados-flagged cargo tanker,” Embry said, warning other commercial ships to stay away from it.
The Houthis began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November under the pretext of targeting ships linked to Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
American and British forces responded by targeting Houthi sites, who have since also considered American and British interests as legitimate targets.
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2024-03-06 19:24:53