(Dan Tri) – Houthi forces announced attacks on two US warships and two commercial ships affiliated with Israel.
Spokesperson of the Houthi armed forces Yahya Sarea (Photo: Reuters).
Houthi forces in Yemen announced on April 29 that they targeted two US warships with drones in the Red Sea.
`These operations were successful,` Yahya Sarea, spokesman for the Houthi armed forces, said in a statement broadcast on the Houthi-run al-Masirah television channel.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command announced it had intercepted five Houthi drones in the Red Sea on April 28.
The Houthis also claimed responsibility for an attack on the CYCLADES, a cargo ship that the Houthis had blacklisted for violating the Houthi ban on ships sailing to Israeli ports.
`The ship was accurately hit in the Red Sea after it left the port of Eilat,` the Houthi spokesman stated.
In addition, Houthi also confirmed attacking the MSC Orion ship, which the group described as Israeli, in the Indian Ocean.
According to LSEG data, the Portuguese-flagged MSC Orion is traveling between ports in Sines, Portugal, and Salalah, Oman, and the registered owner is Zodiac Maritime, partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer
British maritime security firm Ambrey previously announced that a container ship flying the flag of Malta on April 29 confirmed that it was targeted by three missiles while en route from Djibouti to the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
On April 25, the US Central Command announced that a coalition ship successfully intercepted an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) launched from a `Houthi-controlled area` in Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.
`The ASBM was capable of targeting the MV Yorktown, a US-flagged ship, owned by the US and operated with a crew of 18 Americans and 4 Greeks. The US, coalition forces, and commercial ships did not take note.
A Houthi spokesman reiterated the force’s position that it will continue to operate in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean until Israel ceases military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Iran-backed Houthi fighters have repeatedly carried out drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November last year.
The Houthi raids forced carriers to adjust to longer and more expensive routes around South Africa, and raised concerns that the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilize the Middle East.
In March, the Houthi leader said the group was expanding its attack area to prevent ships linked to Israel from passing through the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope.
The US and UK, with the support of a number of partners, have begun attacking Houthi targets in Yemen to pressure them to stop attacks in the Red Sea.