Suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi militias targeted shipping in the Red Sea on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in their campaign of assaults over the Israel-Hamas war.
The first attack happened around 115 kilometers south of the port of Hodeidah, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. That attack saw an explosive detonate near the ship, then a small vessel “acting suspiciously” and flashing a light near the ship came close, followed by a second blast, the UKMTO said.
"The vessel and crew are reported safe,” the UKMTO said.
The private security firm Ambrey similarly reported the attack, saying the ship saw “two ‘close-proximity’ explosions.”
The second attack happened hours later Tuesday some 180 kilometers northwest of Hodeidah, with an explosion similarly sighted off from a ship, the UKMTO said. It wasn't immediately clear if it was the same ship being targeted.
The Houthis have targeted more than 70 vessels with missiles and drones in a campaign that has killed four sailors since the start of the war in Gaza in October. They have seized one vessel and sunk two in the time since. Other missiles and drones have been either intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or splashed down before reaching their targets.
