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In first fatal strike, Houthi rebels kill three crew of cargo ship

Attack on Barbados-flagged Liberia ship escalation on Europe route

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DUBAI: A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday killed three of its crew members and forced survivors to abandon the vessel, the US military said.

It was the first fatal strike in a campaign of assaults by the Iranian-backed group over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The attack on the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence further escalates the conflict on a crucial maritime route linking Asia and the Middle East to Europe that has disrupted global shipping. The Houthis have launched attacks since November, and the US began an airstrike campaign in January that so far hasn’t halted their attacks. Meanwhile, Iran announced Wednesday that it would confiscate a $50 million cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil for American energy firm Chevron Corp. aboard a tanker it seized nearly a year earlier. It is the latest twist in a yearslong shadow war playing out in the Middle East’s waterways even before the Houthi attacks began.

The US military’s Central Command said an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen struck the True Confidence, causing significan­t damage to the ship. In addition to the three deaths, at least four crew members were wounded, with three in critical condition. Two aerial photos released by the US military showed the ship’s bridge and cargo on board ablaze.

“These reckless attacks by the Houthis have disrupted global trade and taken the lives of internatio­nal seafarers simply doing their jobs, which are some of the hardest jobs in the world, and the ones relied on by the global public for sustainmen­t of supply chains,” Central Command said. After the missile hit, the crew abandoned the ship and deployed lifeboats. A US warship and the Indian navy were on the scene, trying to assist in rescue efforts.

The UN called on the Houthis “to cease all attacks against internatio­nal shipping in the Red Sea,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

He said the attacks are causing risks “to property, to life, to ecology in the area.”

These reckless attacks have disrupted global trade and taken the lives of internatio­nal seafarers simply doing their jobs

— The US military’s Central Command

 ?? ?? Fire aboard the bulk carrier True Confidence after a missile attack in the Gulf of Aden
Fire aboard the bulk carrier True Confidence after a missile attack in the Gulf of Aden

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