Houthis claim six attacks on Israel, US, UK ships

Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed responsibility for six drone and missile attacks against Israel, as well as US and UK military and commercial ships, in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Tuesday that their naval and missile forces fired missiles at the Maersk Saratoga, APL Detroit, Huang Pu, and Pretty Lady ships while cruising in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over the last 72 hours, claiming that the first and second ships were American and the third and fourth British.

Sarea also claimed to have launched drones at two US Navy warships in the Red Sea and ballistic missiles at targets in the Israeli city of Eilat, promising to continue their assaults on ships until Israel breaks its blockade on the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Despite the Houthis’ assertions that the merchant vessel Huang Pu is British, the US Central Command said it is a Chinese-owned and operated oil tanker sailing under the Panamanian flag, and the Houthis launched five ballistic missiles at it when it was in the Red Sea. Elisabeth Kendall, a Middle East expert and mistress of Cambridge University’s Girton College, told Arab News that the Houthi assault on the Chinese ships might be the result of outdated or incorrect information, or that they believe the US and UK move commodities via a third party. “It is also likely that the Houthis believe some UK or US companies are transferring their shipping assets to third parties as a cover strategy to avoid being targeted,” she said.