Houthi rebels claim latest attack on cargo ship in Gulf of Aden

Manama: A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit an Antigua- and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, the latest assault on shipping in the region.

The missile hit the ship’s forward station late Saturday, 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 centre similarly reported the attack and fire in the same area off Aden, saying “damage control is underway.”

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack in a prerecorded video message Sunday, saying the vessel had been targeted with both missiles and drones.

He identified the vessel as the Norderney, a ship that tracking data analysed by The Associated Press showed was still in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday afternoon.

Saree also claimed unreported attacks on a warship and another vessel in the Arabian Sea, without providing any evidence to support his claim. The Houthis have exaggerated some of their attacks since launching their campaign.

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.