Yemen: Houthis attack 3 ships in 24 hours

Ambrey, a British maritime security company, claimed on Sunday that two ships had been targeted off Yemen, bringing the total number of incidents recorded in less than a day to three.

Although no immediate claim was made, the attacks come during a campaign by Iran-backed Huthis in Yemen targeting ships that the rebels believe are connected to Israel during the Gaza conflict.

Ambrey did not specify whether the vessel was hit when he stated that “a vessel was targeted… southwest of Mukalla,” a port city in Yemen.

This was Ambrey’s second attack of the day.

It had earlier said that a projectile had fallen close to a ship southwest of the port of Aden in Yemen.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British security organization, reported that a “missile impacted the water in close proximity” to the ship.

“No damage to the vessel reported and crew reported safe,” it said.

Sunday’s attacks come hours after two missiles targeted a ship southwest of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, according to both UKMTO and Ambrey.

One missile was intercepted by US-led coalition forces and the second missed the ship, according to UKMTO.

Huthi rebels have launched dozens of missile and drone strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, saying their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

The United States, which leads an multi-national flotilla intended to protect Red Sea shipping, has since mid-January launched repeated attacks on Huthi targets in Yemen.

British warplanes have also taken part in several of the strikes.

In a televised speech on Thursday, Huthi chief Abdul Malik al-Huthi said 37 people had been killed in more than 400 strikes by US and British forces on Yemen since January.

“During these operations and attacks, 37 martyrs died and 30 others were wounded,” he said, without specifying if the casualties were civilians or combatants.

The rebel leader vowed to continue strikes on Red Sea shipping, saying his fighters had launched 34 attacks over the past month.

(WIth agency inputs)