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©(Photo by AFP)
A missile struck a cargo ship owned by the United States on Monday off the coast of Yemen, as reported by a British security agency and a maritime risk company. This incident occurred a day after the Houthis launched a cruise missile at a US destroyer.
Yemen's Houthi rebels hit a US-owned cargo vessel with a missile on Monday, the US military said, heightening fears for the volatile region after repeated attacks on shipping triggered American and British strikes.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Gibraltar Eagle suffered a fire on board but no casualties and remained seaworthy, the US Central Command said, in the latest attack in recent days.
"Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle," it posted on X, formerly Twitter.
"The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey," added CENTCOM, which directs US military operations in the region.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis claimed the attack against the ship, the group "carried out a military operation targeting an American ship", military spokesman Yahya Saree said, adding "a certain number of appropriate naval missiles" were used.
A Yemeni government source told AFP that three missiles were fired by the insurgent group on Monday. An anti-ship ballistic missile launched towards shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea failed in flight, CENTCOM said.
Around 12 percent of global trade normally passes through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea's entrance between southwest Yemen and Djibouti, but the rebel attacks have affected trade flows.
In Monday's attack, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations security agency, run by Britain's Royal Navy, reported a "vessel hit from above by a missile".
Ambrey, a British maritime risk company, "assessed the attack to have targeted US interests in response to US military strikes on Houthi military positions in Yemen", adding that the vessel was "assessed to not be Israel-affiliated".
"The impact reportedly caused a fire in a hold. The bulker reportedly remained seaworthy, and no injuries were reported," Ambrey said in a report.
The ship was transiting the International Recommended Transit Corridor, a passage of the Gulf of Aden that is patrolled for pirates, when it was struck, Ambrey added.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
Yemen's Houthi rebels hit a US-owned cargo vessel with a missile on Monday, the US military said, heightening fears for the volatile region after repeated attacks on shipping triggered American and British strikes.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Gibraltar Eagle suffered a fire on board but no casualties and remained seaworthy, the US Central Command said, in the latest attack in recent days.
"Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle," it posted on X, formerly Twitter.
"The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey," added CENTCOM, which directs US military operations in the region.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis claimed the attack against the ship, the group "carried out a military operation targeting an American ship", military spokesman Yahya Saree said, adding "a certain number of appropriate naval missiles" were used.
A Yemeni government source told AFP that three missiles were fired by the insurgent group on Monday. An anti-ship ballistic missile launched towards shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea failed in flight, CENTCOM said.
Around 12 percent of global trade normally passes through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea's entrance between southwest Yemen and Djibouti, but the rebel attacks have affected trade flows.
In Monday's attack, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations security agency, run by Britain's Royal Navy, reported a "vessel hit from above by a missile".
Ambrey, a British maritime risk company, "assessed the attack to have targeted US interests in response to US military strikes on Houthi military positions in Yemen", adding that the vessel was "assessed to not be Israel-affiliated".
"The impact reportedly caused a fire in a hold. The bulker reportedly remained seaworthy, and no injuries were reported," Ambrey said in a report.
The ship was transiting the International Recommended Transit Corridor, a passage of the Gulf of Aden that is patrolled for pirates, when it was struck, Ambrey added.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
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