Ship attacked in Red Sea in latest maritime assault likely carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship traveling through the Red Sea on Thursday reported being hit in an attack likely carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, authorities said, the latest in the campaign targeting shipping over the Israel-Hamas war.

The ship issued a radio call off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida saying it had been struck, the private security firm Ambrey first reported. A warship in the area was responding to the attack, Ambrey said.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center later also confirmed the attack.

“The nature of the attack is reported as a waterborne improvised explosive device,” the UKMTO said. “The vessel and crew are reported as safe and the vessel is proceeding to their next port of call.”

The UKMTO did not elaborate, but the Houthis have used bomb-laden drone boats to attacks ships.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. It can take hours or even days for them to acknowledge their assaults.

The rebels have targeted more than 60 vessels by firing missiles and drones in their campaign that has killed a total of four sailors. They seized one vessel and sank two since November. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with a series of strikes on May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say.

The Houthis maintain that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the Israel-Hamas war — including some bound for Iran.

Late Tuesday, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for an attack Monday on the Liberian-flagged, Greek-managed container ship MSC Sarah V. On Wednesday, the Houthis claimed they used a new hypersonic ballistic missile in the assault, which targeted a ship farther away than nearly all of the previous assaults they’ve launched in the Gulf of Aden.

The U.S. military’s Central Command also said it destroyed a Houthi radar site. Another attack Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden was suspected to have been carried out by the Houthis, though they have yet to claim it.