Suspected missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hits container ship

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels It struck a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden, authorities said Sunday, in the group’s first assault since Israeli airstrikes targeted them.

The Houthis offered no explanation for the two-week pause in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor, which have seen similar slowdowns since attacks began in November. Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the resumption comes later The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.the main benefactor of the Houthis, amid renewed concerns about the possibility of the war escalating into a regional conflict.

The rebels separately said they shot down another American spy plane on Sunday, later releasing images of the plane’s wreckage on the mountainside.

Saturday’s attack occurred about 225 kilometers (140 miles) southeast of Aden, in a stretch of the Gulf of Aden that has seen numerous Houthi attacks before. It struck the container ship Groton just above its waterline, causing minor damage, said the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational coalition overseen by the U.S. Navy. An earlier missile attack missed the ship, the JMIC said.

“All crew on board are safe,” the center said. “The ship was reported to have diverted to a nearby port.”

The Groton had left Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates, bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Greek officials at Groton did not respond to a request for comment.

Brig. General Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack in a pre-recorded statement on Sunday afternoon.

The rebels have attacked more than 70 vessels with missiles and drones in a campaign that has killed four sailors. They have seized a boat and sunk two in the time since then. Other missiles and drones have been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or have fallen before reaching their targets.

The Houthis maintain their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain as part of the rebels’ campaign they say seeks to force an end to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the war, including some bound for Iran.

In the case of the Groton, JMIC said the ship “was attacked because other vessels within its company structure made recent calls at Israeli ports.”

The Houthis have also launched drones and missiles toward Israel, including a attack on July 19 that killed one person and injured 10 other people in Tel Aviv. Israel responded the next day with airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeida, which Hit fuel depots and power stations.killing and wounding several people, the rebels claim.

Since then, no attacks on shipping have been reported through the Red Sea corridor, which links Asia and the Middle East to Europe via the Suez Canal. Since November, Houthi attacks have disrupted the trillion-dollar flow of goods that passes through the region annually while causing the most intense combat the US Navy has seen since World War II.

Saree also claimed in his statement that the Houthis shot down a US MQ-9 spy plane over Saada province. Shortly after the claim, the rebels released images of the downed plane, showing Houthi supporters, including children, climbing over the wreckage and pointing at what appeared to be missiles carried by the drone.

The U.S. Department of Defense said it was aware of the claim and was investigating, without providing further details.

Since the civil war in Yemen began in 2014, when the Houthis seized most of the country’s north and its capital, Sanaa, the US military has lost several drones to the rebels, while others may have been lost by the CIA. In the images no military identification marks can be seen on the downed drone.

The MQ-9 drones, known as Reapers, cost about $30 million each. They can fly at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet (about 15,000 meters) and have a range of up to 24 hours before having to land.

Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran has raised concerns about a new escalation in the war between Israel and Hamas. The US military already says will move a squadron of fighter aircraft to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group will enter the Middle East to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group, which is in the Gulf of Oman. Other ships are in the Mediterranean Sea with a detachment of marines in case regional evacuations are necessary.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the US military’s Central Command said its forces destroyed a Houthi missile and launcher in Yemen.

The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage, sparked the war. Since then, Israel has killed at least 39,580 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and 590 in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials say.