Published: Saturday, May 18, 2024
DUBAI — DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) — Yemen’s Houthi Rebels launched a ballistic rocket at an oil tanker owned by Greeks and flying the Panama flag in the Red Sea early Saturday morning, damaging it in their latest attack over the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have not claimed the attack, but they have already announced that another MQ-9 Reaper U.S. military drone was shot down over Yemen, and that other attacks have been launched on shipping to disrupt trade along a major maritime route leading to Suez Canal and Mediterranean Sea.
Central Command of the U.S. Military said that the attack occurred around 1 am and targeted the oil tanker Wind. The Wind had recently docked at a Russian port on its way to China. China and Russia have ties with Iran, which is the main beneficiary of the Houthis. They both supply military equipment and oil.
Central Command stated on social platform X that the missile strike caused flooding, which led to the loss of propulsion and steering. The crew of M/T Wind restored propulsion and steering and there were no reported casualties. M/T Wind continued its course on its own.”
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Ambrey, a private security company and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center of the British military both acknowledged the incident earlier on Saturday. Ambrey claimed that the attack caused a fire on board the Wind.
The Houthis can take hours, or even days, to declare their attacks.
Houthis launched attacks against shipping in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and demanded Israel end the Gaza war, in which more than 35 000 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas-led militants launched an attack on Israel in October, killing more than 1,200 people. They also took 250 hostages.
According to the U.S. Maritime Administration, since November, the Houthis launched more than fifty attacks against shipping. They have seized a vessel and sunk a second.
In recent weeks, Houthi attacks decreased as a result of a U.S. airstrike in Yemen that targeted the rebels. Despite the threat, shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden remains low.
The Houthis claim to have shot down the Reaper with a surfaceto-air missile on Thursday. The drone was described as “carrying on hostile actions” in Yemen’s Marib Province, which is still held by the allies of Yemen’s exiled internationally recognized government.
The U.S. military lost five drones in the past to the Houthis since they seized the north of the country and Sanaa’s capital in 2014.
Reapers can fly up to 50,000 feet in altitude and last up to 24 hours without landing.
Source: ABC News