Houthis attack ship in Red Sea, kill 6 including 2 rescuers
by Lisa Hornung · UPIAug. 11 (UPI) -- At least six people were killed Tuesday when Houthi militia attacked a cargo ship with missiles in the Red Sea, the Yemeni government said.
The Yemeni Transport Ministry said in a statement that the ship was carrying food and was hit while traveling through the Bab al-Mandab Strait. One Indonesian and three Pakistani crew members were killed in the attack after a fire broke out on board the Tihamah.
The Yemeni coast guard said later Tuesday that two members of the armed forces were also killed during a rescue mission when another Houthi missile was launched at the ship.
The Houthis have not commented on the attack, but the group has recently fired on Saudi Arabian vessels in the Red Sea as part of a blockade against its northern neighbor.
It's unclear who owns the ship. The Transport Ministry described the Tihamah as a Yemeni commercial vessel, but Equasis, a shipping database, said it's a small cargo ship owned by Egyptian company Thubab for Marine Services and flies the Tanzanian flag, The New York Times reported.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, though a 2022 cease-fire had slowed conflict. In 2014, the Iran-backed Houthis took over the Yemeni capital Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened but failed to remove the Houthis. Now, the Houthis control the northern half of Yemen, including Sanaa.
The Red Sea has become increasingly important since the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked by Iran after the United States and Israel began a war on the country.
On Sunday, the Houthis attacked a Saudi state-owned oil refinery in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, as well as the Red Sea port of Mokha, which is controlled by the Yemeni government. The attack on Mokha killed at least seven people. It was the most recent in a spate of attacks by the rebels.