Aerial drone launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels hits ship in the Red Sea, causing damage and injuries

Source: Associated Press

Aerial drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hits ship in the Red Sea, causing damage and injuries

BY JON GAMBRELL
Updated 11:04 PM EDT, June 23, 2024

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An aerial drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck and damaged a vessel in the Red Sea on Sunday, officials said, the latest attack by the group targeting shipping in the vital maritime corridor.

The attack comes as the U.S. has sent the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower back home after an eight-month deployment in which it lead the American response to the Houthi assaults. Those attacks have reduced shipping drastically through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on.

The drone attack happened around dawn off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. It said the vessel sustained damage but its mariners on board “were reported safe.” It did not elaborate on the extent of the damage to the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owner bulk carrier, but said an investigation was ongoing.

Hours after the attack, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack, saying the rebels targeted the Transworld Navigator. Saree claimed without offering evidence the rebels instead used a drone boat in the attack, something contradicted by every other report on the assault.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-red-sea-attack-israel-hamas-war-74992b2f95c18fadcc2e8138d5117374