Earlier on Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels were suspected of carrying out an attack that caused an explosion near a ship in the Gulf of Aden, potentially marking their latest attack on shipping through the vital waterway to the Red Sea.
The British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations Center said crew members saw the explosion as the ship passed the coast of Aden. Aden is a port city in southern Yemen and the seat of the country’s government-in-exile.
“No damage to the vessel has been reported and the crew is safe,” the operations center said.
The Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks in the same area, disrupting energy and cargo shipments through the Gulf of Aden.
The rebels did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, although it often takes the Houthis several hours to acknowledge an attack.
In addition, the U.S. Central Command stated that it launched a series of attacks against the Houthi armed forces. The company said it destroyed five drone ships and a drone before taking off from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen on Saturday. An unusually high number of drone ships were destroyed.
In addition, the US military shot down a Houthi armed drone over the Red Sea, while another was “presumed to have crashed.”
“There were no reports of damage or injuries to nearby vessels,” Central Command said.
The Houthis have been attacking ships since November, saying they hope to force Israel to halt its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
However, most of the ships targeted by the Houthis have little or no connection to Israel, the United States or other countries involved in the war. The rebels also fired missiles at Israel, but most were unsuccessful or intercepted.
The attacks on shipping have raised the profile of the Houthis, members of the minority Shia Zaidi sect of Islam that ruled Yemen for 1,000 years until 1962.
A report on Thursday said the Houthis now possess a hypersonic missile, which could boost their popularity and put more pressure on Israel after a Gaza ceasefire failed to materialize ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hypersonic missiles will pose a more serious threat to U.S. and allied warships in the region.
In early March, a Houthi missile hit a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three crew members and forcing the survivors to abandon ship. It marked the Houthis’ first deadly attack on shipping.
Other recent actions by the Houthis include an attack last month on a cargo ship carrying fertilizer that sank after drifting for days.
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