US official: Yemeni Houthi missile hits bulker, crew reports two deaths

He said the missile had caused “significant damage” to the Barbados-flagged and Liberian-owned ship, adding that “the crew reported at least two dead and six injured crew members and abandoned ship.”

The official said it was the fifth anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis in two days, noting that two, including the latest, had hit merchant ships and the third was shot down by a US destroyer.

In November, the Houthis began attacking Red Sea shipping, saying they were attacking ships linked to Israel, in a show of support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been ravaged by a war between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.

US and UK forces responded with strikes against the Houthis, who later declared that American and British interests were also legitimate targets.

Resentment over Israel’s devastating campaign in the Gaza Strip, which began after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7, has grown across the Middle East and fueled violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.