20 February 2024 , 11:46
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A ship flying the flag of Belize was badly damaged in a key strait leading to the Red Sea after an attack by Houthi rebels.
The crew had to abandon the vessel after it was hit by a missile while travelling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, authorities said on Monday. Another ship was reportedly attacked twice in the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, also claimed they had shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, but this has not been confirmed by U.S. forces in the region. However, the Houthis have previously brought down U.S. drones.
At the same time, the U.S. military said it was carrying out new airstrikes against the rebels, including one that targeted the first underwater drone used by the Houthis since they started attacking international shipping in November.
The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre reported that the ship targeted in the Houthi attack on Sunday had been damaged by "an explosion in close proximity to the vessel." The UKMTO said: Military authorities report crew have abandoned the vessel. Vessel at anchor and all crew are safe."
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Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree issued a statement claiming the attack, saying the vessel later sunk. However, there has been no independent confirmation that the vessel sank. "The ship suffered catastrophic damages and came to a complete halt," Saree said. "During the operation, we made sure that the ship's crew exited safely."
The private security firm Ambrey reported the British-registered, Lebanese-operated cargo ship had been on its way to Bulgaria after leaving Khorfakkan in the United Arab Emirates. Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic.com identified the vessel targeted as the Rubymar. Its Beirut-based manager could not be reached for comment.
The Houthis later also identified the ship as the Rubymar, as did the U.S. military's Central Command. Central Command said the attack involved two anti-ship ballistic missiles, which saw one struck the Rubymar.
Ambrey described the ship as being partially laden with cargo, but it wasn't immediately clear what it had been carrying. The ship had turned off its Automatic Identification System tracker while in the Persian Gulf early this month.
Later Monday, the UKMTO and Ambrey said a second vessel came under attack in the Gulf of Aden. Ambrey described the vessel as a Greek-flagged, U.S.-owned bulk carrier bound for Aden, Yemen, and carrying grain from Argentina. The same ship then came under attack again, later in the day.
The ship, identified as the Sea Champion, was reportedly attacked, but its managers could not be reached for comment. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, stating they targeted a different vessel.
Late on Monday, reports emerged of a suspected Houthi drone attack on a ship off Djibouti in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The ship suffered minor damage. Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over Israel 's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
They have often targeted vessels with weak or no clear links to Israel, threatening shipping in a key trade route between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. These vessels included at least one carrying cargo for Iran, their main supporter. In another incident, Saree claimed that Houthi forces shot down an MQ-9 drone near Yemen's port city of Hodeida on the Red Sea. He did not provide any evidence to support this claim.
Saree said the Houthi "air defences were able to shoot down an American plane - MQ-9 - with a suitable missile while it was carrying out hostile missions against our country on behalf of the Zionist entity." The U.S. military hasn't confirmed if they've lost any drones in the region yet. But, the Houthis have weapons that can shoot down high-flying American drones. In November, the Pentagon said an MQ-9 drone was shot down by the rebels over the Red Sea.
Since Yemen's Houthi rebels took over the north of the country and its capital, Sanaa, in 2014, the U.S. military has lost four drones to them - in 2017, 2019 and this year.
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The U.S. military's Central Command said it carried out five airstrikes targeting Houthi military equipment. These strikes targeted mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, a drone boat carrying explosives and an "unmanned underwater vessel," Central Command said.