2023-12-13 08:26:01
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two missiles launched Wednesday from Yemeni territory controlled by Yemeni Houthi rebels landed near a commercial oil tanker near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to a U.S. official.
A U.S. warship also shot down a suspected Houthi drone flying in its direction during the incident, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence. No one was injured in the attack, he said.
The ship attacked, the Marshall Islands-flagged oil and chemical tanker Ardmore Encounter, was traveling north to the Suez Canal in the Red Sea, according to satellite data analyzed by The Associated Press. The ship was arriving from India and had an armed security team on board. Ship managers might not immediately be reached for comment.
The Houthis did not acknowledge the attack at first.
The attack continued a campaign by Iranian-backed rebels once morest ships near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which now appears to include vessels with no clear ties to Israel. That might jeopardize cargo and energy shipments passing through the Suez Canal, and increases the international impact of the war between Israel and Hamas that continues in the Gaza Strip.
Houthi rebels in Yemen also launched a missile on Monday that hit a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea near Yemen’s coast, along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
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