The Houthi group in Yemen announced on Sunday that it had carried out strikes targeting a British naval destroyer and two commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility on Sunday for strikes targeting a British naval destroyer and two commercial ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.
Yahya Sarea, the military spokesman for the Houthis, announced in a televised statement on the group’s Al-Masirah channel that their forces had launched an operation against the British warship HMS Diamond in the Red Sea, alleging it was hit “accurately” with several ballistic missiles.
Sarea also claimed that a combined missile and drone attack was launched by the Houthis, directly hitting two commercial vessels, the Norderney and MSC Tavvishi, in the Arabian Sea. The group alleges the ships violated their maritime shipment ban on Israeli ports.
Earlier in the day, a Yemeni government Coast Guard official reported that the Liberian-flagged container ship MSC Tavvishi was hit by a Houthi missile while sailing in the Gulf of Aden, approximately 70 nautical miles southwest of the temporary capital Aden. The ship was struck in the stern, causing a fire, but no casualties were reported among the crew.
“Operations will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” declared Sarea.
The Houthi rebels have been conducting military operations in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait since November 2023, targeting vessels they claim are linked to Israel in response to the ongoing conflict between the Israeli military and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
These attacks led the United States and Britain to launch a joint military operation in January 2024, involving airstrikes and missile strikes against Houthi targets across Yemen. In retaliation, the group expanded its targeting to include American and British commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, further escalating tensions in the strategic region.
