Houthi terrorists attack Portuguese ship by drone

JERUSALEM — A Portuguese-flagged container ship came under attack by a drone in the far reaches of the Arabian Sea, corresponding with a claim by Yemen’s Houthi terrorists that they assaulted the ship there, authorities said Tuesday.

The attack on the MSC Orion, occurring some 375 miles off the coast of Yemen, appeared to be the first confirmed deep-sea assault claimed by the Houthis since they began targeting ships in November.

It suggests the Houthis — or potentially their main benefactor Iran — may have the ability to strike into the distances of the Indian Ocean as the terrorists previously threatened in their ongoing campaign over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The attack happened last Friday, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, which operates as part of the U.s.-led Combined Maritime Forces in the Mideast. After the attack, the crew discovered debris apparently from a drone on board, the center said.

The ship “sustained only minor damage and all crew on board are safe,” the center said.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi terrorists, claimed the attack on the Orion early Tuesday. He did not explain why it took the terrorists days to acknowledge the attack.

The attack immediately raised questions about how the Houthis could have carried out an assault hundreds of miles from the shores of Yemen on a moving target.

The Houthis say their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war against Hamas in

Gaza.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November.

Houthi attacks had dropped in recent weeks as the terrorists were targeted by a U.s.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen.

But the terrorists have renewed their attacks in the past week. On Tuesday, the terrorists released footage of their drone attack on the Cyclades, a Malta-flagged, Greeceowned bulk carrier, the day before. The footage appeared to show a Samad bomb-carrying drone, believed to have been supplied to the Houthis by Iran, being used in the attack.