(Dubai) The Houthis claimed Monday an attack on an American cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, saying they were retaliating for strikes on Yemen carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom, whose ships are now considered “hostile targets”. “.
Yemeni rebels “carried out a military operation targeting a US ship in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of appropriate naval missiles, hitting it precisely and directly,” their military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, announced on Monday. x.
This attack is part of “the response” to the American-British strikes against Yemen, he clarified, affirming that the Houthis considered “all American and British ships and warships participating in the aggression against [le] countries as hostile targets.
The US military’s Middle East Command (CENTCOM) earlier said a missile hit a US cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, causing no injuries or significant damage.
American and British forces carried out raids on Friday against positions of the Houthis, who have increased attacks in recent weeks against ships they suspect of being linked to Israel, claiming to act in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. .
The Houthis will continue to prevent Israeli ships from crossing the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the end of the Gaza war, and to take “defensive and offensive measures” to defend against US-British strikes , according to their spokesperson.
At approximately 4 p.m. (8 a.m. Eastern Time), Iranian-backed Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile […] and touched the M/V Gibraltar Eaglea cargo ship flying the flag of the Marshall Islands”, belonging to an American shipowner, CENTCOM indicated.
“The ship has not reported any injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey,” he added.
According to the British Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO), the cargo ship “was hit from above by a missile” southeast of the city of Aden in southern Yemen.
According to British maritime risk company Ambrey, the ship hit off the coast of Aden was heading towards the Suez Canal.
He is not linked to Israel, Ambrey affirmed, estimating that he was targeted because of his affiliation, “in response to American military strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen”.
The US military said it had “shot down, earlier today, an anti-ship ballistic missile fired towards shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea”, which fell on Yemeni territory.
New strategy?
In response to the increase in attacks in the Red Sea, American and British forces carried out raids on Houthi positions on Friday.
After these strikes, the rebels fired “at least one missile”, according to the American army, which targeted other military sites in Yemen on Saturday morning.
On Sunday, Houthi media reported new strikes but this information was denied by Washington which said, on the other hand, it had shot down a cruise missile targeting an American destroyer.
The incident took place in the southern Red Sea, near the coast of Hodeida, in western Yemen.
For Mohamed Albasha, of the American consulting firm Navanti, Monday’s attack off the coast of Aden could be a sign of an evolution in the Houthis’ strategy.
“With US and British naval warships focused primarily on the Red Sea” west of Yemen, the Houthis could “redirect their attention to ships in the Gulf of Aden [Sud] and in the Arabian Sea [Est] “, he stressed.
About 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea, but since mid-November, Houthi attacks have forced many shipping companies to avoid the area, and take the longest route around the tip of Africa, to the price of additional transport costs and longer delivery times.