Yemenis brandishing rocket propelled grenades (RPG) chant slogans as they march in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa on Feb. 28, 2024, in support of Palestinians amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. (Credit: Mohammed Huwais/AFP)
A missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels hit a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, with the crew reporting at least two dead and six wounded, a US official said.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting merchant vessels transiting the vital Red Sea trade route for months and have previously hit ships with missiles and drones, but the two deaths on Wednesday appear to be the first fatalities directly resulting from an attack by the rebels.
"Today, the Houthis have killed innocent civilians," the defense official said, noting that the crew "reports at least two fatalities and six injured crew members and have abandoned the ship."
The missile caused significant damage to the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned M/V True Confidence, according to the official, who said it was the fifth anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in two days.
Two of those – including the latest – hit merchant vessels and a third was shot down by an American destroyer, the official added.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency also reported the Wednesday attack, saying a Barbados-flagged ship had been "hit and has suffered damage," without elaborating on the strike.
"The vessel has been abandoned by the crew and is no longer under command," UKMTO added.
Months of attacks
Maritime security firm Ambrey had earlier said a rescue operation was underway and that crew members were in lifeboats.
It cautioned other ships to steer clear of the US-owned ship, which it said matched the "targeting profile" of the Houthis.
The rebels started harassing ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in November, a campaign they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians in the devastating Gaza war.
They have vowed to strike Israeli, British and American ships as well as vessels heading to Israeli ports, disrupting traffic through the vital trade route off Yemen's shores.
UKMTO said vessels in the vicinity of the US-owned bulk freighter had reported "a loud bang, and a large plume of smoke."
Ambrey said the vessel was contacted "by an entity declaring itself to be the 'Yemeni Navy,'" a title adopted by the Houthi rebels.
The latest incident comes after an abandoned Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated ship sank on Saturday with 21,000 metric tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer on board.
The Rubymar had been taking on water since a Huthi missile strike on Feb. 18 damaged its hull and forced the evacuation of its crew to Djibouti.
The flurry of Houthi strikes has caused several major shipping firms to suspend passage through the Red Sea, which usually carries around 12 percent of global trade.
The United States and Britain have since January launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks.
A missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels hit a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, with the crew reporting at least two dead and six wounded, a US official said.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting merchant vessels transiting the vital Red Sea trade route for months and have previously hit ships with missiles and drones, but the two...