Two attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels hit ships in the Red Sea

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Two attacks by The Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked ships in the Red Sea on Monday when new US aircraft carrier has turned to the region to ensure the security of the crucial international trade route, which has been under attack since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out nine months ago.

Three small Houthi ships, two crewed and one unmanned, attacked the Panamanian-flagged, Israeli-owned MT Bently I off the coast of Al Hudaydah in Yemen, according to British and American authorities.

The “unmanned small boat collided with the ship twice and the two manned small boats fired at the ship,” the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center reported. “The ship carried out self-protection measures, after 15 minutes the small boat broke off the attack.”

The captain later reported three separate waves of missile attacks exploding in the immediate vicinity of the ship.

Later on Monday, in a separate incident off the same coast, the MT Chios Lion, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker owned by the Marshall Islands, was attacked by a Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle, which “impacted the port side causing some damage and light smoke,” according to the UKMTO.

Both ships and their entire crew are safe and sound, the UKMTO said in a warning to seafarers.

Late Monday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bently I and Chios Lion.

Early Tuesday, the US Central Command confirmed the attacks and identified the names and flags of the ships.

“This ongoing reckless behavior by the Iran-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of sailors in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” the Central Command said in a statement. “The Houthis claim to act on behalf of the Palestinians in Gaza, yet they target and threaten the lives of third-country nationals who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza.”

Also on Monday, the Central Command said US forces had destroyed five Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles, three over the Red Sea and two in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt approaches the Middle East to replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, who spent months in the Red Sea to confront the Houthis.

As part of their campaign, the rebels have attacked more than 70 ships with missiles and drones, killing four sailors. a ship confiscated And sank two since November.

In June, the number of Houthi attacks on merchant vessels rose to levels not seen since December, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, a coalition monitored by the U.S. Navy. Since January, U.S.-led airstrikes have targeted the Houthis, with Series of strikes on May 30 According to the rebels, at least 16 people were killed and 42 others injured.

The Houthis claim that their attacks target ships with links to Israel, the US or Britain because the rebels support the militant Hamas group in its war against Israel. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the war – including some bound for Iran, which supports the Houthis.

Last week, the Houthis said they fired missiles at a U.S. container ship in the Gulf of Aden, the rebels’ furthest attack on a U.S.-flagged vessel near the Arabian Sea, authorities said. The JMIC identified the ship as the Maersk Sentosa. Maersk, a Danish company and the world’s largest shipping company, confirmed to The Associated Press that its ship had been attacked.