Yemeni Houthi militants have claimed to have launched rockets and drones targeting a British ship and two Israeli vessels heading to Israeli ports, according to an Al Jazeera report.

British maritime security firm Ambrey had said that two ships had been targeted off Yemen, raising the number of incidents reported to three in under 24 hours.

Several US frigates in the Red Sea were also targeted, according to a televised statement by Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree, adding that the attacks occurred during the last 72 hours.

The attacks were not immediately claimed, but they coincide with a campaign by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis against ships the rebels say are linked to Israel amid the Gaza war.

Ambrey said “a vessel was targeted… southwest of Mukalla,” a Yemeni port city, without clarifying if it was hit.

It was the second attack Ambrey reported on Sunday.

Earlier, it said a projectile fell near a ship southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden.

The British security agency ‘United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations’ said that the “missile impacted the water in close proximity” to the ship.

“No damage to the vessel reported and the crew reported safe,” it said.

Sunday’s attacks come hours after two missiles targeted a ship southwest of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, according to both UKMTO and Ambrey.

One missile was intercepted by US-led coalition forces, and the second missed the ship, according to UKMTO.

Houthi rebels have launched dozens of missile and drone strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, saying their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

The United States, which leads a multinational flotilla intended to protect Red Sea shipping, has since mid-January launched repeated attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen.

British warplanes have also taken part in several of the strikes.

In a televised speech on Thursday, Houthi chief Abdul Malik al-Houthi said 37 people had been killed in more than 400 strikes by US and British forces on Yemen since January.

“During these operations and attacks, 37 martyrs died, and 30 others were wounded,” he said, without specifying if the casualties were civilians or combatants.

The rebel leader vowed to continue strikes on Red Sea shipping, saying his fighters had launched 34 attacks over the past month.

 

With AFP