The Houthis say the commercial vessel was targeted for use at an Israeli port as they step up their campaign to support Palestinians in Gaza.
The Houthis in Yemen say they launched attacks on a commercial ship after it used an Israeli port, and on a US aircraft carrier ordered to return after months of responding to maritime attacks launched because of the war in Gaza.
Yahya Saree, military spokesman for the Iran-aligned group, said in a televised announcement Saturday that the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Transworld Navigator was directly hit by ballistic missiles in the Arabian Sea.
“The ship was targeted because the company that owned it violated the ban on entering ports in occupied Palestine,” he said, alluding to a previous threat that all ships docking in Israeli ports would be considered targets.
The attack followed the sinking this week of the MV Tutor, which appears to mark a new escalation in the campaign against commercial ships in vital maritime corridors.
Saree also claimed a ballistic and cruise missile attack on the USS Eisenhower, which has led U.S. Navy operations in the region since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Saree said “the operation successfully achieved its objectives” without giving further details. An unnamed US official told the Reuters news agency that the claim “is incorrect”.
The Houthis and social media accounts supporting them have repeatedly and falsely claimed that they struck or even sank the aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.
The announcement came shortly after U.S. officials ordered the USS Eisenhower to return home after more than eight months of deployment, with another aircraft carrier operating in the Pacific ready to replace it.
UKMTO NOTICE
INCIDENT 088 – ATTACK – UPDATE 001https://t.co/fX3hWupPWO#Maritime Security #MarSec pic.twitter.com/yDrCzyfawN— UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) June 21, 2024
UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Friday that a ship was attacked 126 nautical miles (233 km) east of Aden, Yemen. He stated that the captain reported “explosions in the vicinity of the vessel” and that the crew is safe.
The Houthis have pledged to continue their military operations, which they say support the Palestinians and will only stop when the siege on Gaza is lifted.
The group has launched more than 60 attacks, sunk two commercial ships, captured another and attacked dozens more since the war began.
In March, the Houthis killed three people after one of their anti-ship ballistic missiles set fire to the Barbados-flagged True Confidence.
The US and UK militaries have launched airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen to weaken the group’s military capabilities.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
