Yemen’s Houthi group damaged two commercial vessels in missile strikes in the Gulf of Aden over the past 24 hours as part of an ongoing campaign against international shipping, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday.
Iranian-backed Houthis struck the Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned container ship Tavvishi with an anti-ship ballistic missile. The vessel was damaged, but none of the crew was injured, CENTCOM reported.
Two rockets fired by Houthis hit the German-owned, Antigua and Barbados-flagged cargo ship Norderney. The vessel was damaged, but none of the crew was injured and the ship continued on its way, CENTCOM said.
The Houthis had earlier said they had hit the Tavvishi and Norderney vessels and claimed to have set the latter on fire.
On May 31, Yemeni Houthis launched a missile attack on the US aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement of Yemeni Houthis struck the US ship Largo Desert and the Israeli ship MSC Mechela in the Indian Ocean in late May.
The Houthis, who control the most populated parts of Yemen and are backed by Iran, have been attacking ships off their coast for months, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have carried out drone and missile attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, forcing ship owners to take longer and more costly routes around southern Africa since November.
The US and UK have struck Houthi targets in response to the attacks, but this has only worsened the situation in the Red Sea.
