File image.
The Houthis (Ansar Allah) released on June 19 video footage of its recent attack on the Tutor, a Liberian flagged, Greek owned and operated bulk cargo carrier, in the Red Sea.
The vessel was attacked on June 12 because its owner, Evalend Shipping Co. S.A., violated the Houthis’ blockade on Israel and ignored a warning, according to the group, which said that another vessel owned by the Greek company, the Shimanami Star, made a call to the port of Haifa on May 18.
At the time of the attack, it was reported that the vessel was struck by missiles and a single uncrewed suicide boat. However, the footage released by the Houthis show that the Tutor was hit by two uncrewed suicide boats and later with three unidentified munitions. The video was shot by Houthi fighters who were on a nearby boat, likely to monitor and coordinate the attack.
Tutor was abandoned by its crew shortly after the attack. By June 18, it had completely sunk. One of the vessel’s crew members, who was reportedly in the engine room when the attack took place, remains missing.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have attacked dozens of vessels affiliated with Israel or owned by the U.S. and the UK in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea since November in response to the Israeli war and siege on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the group launched dozens of drones and missiles at the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat and shot down six American-made combat drones over Yemen and nearby waters.
On June 19, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) annonced that its forces destroyed two Houthi uncrewed suicide boats in the Red Sea and struck a ground control station along with a command and control node in an area controlled by the group in Yemen over the past 24 hours.
“It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to U.S. forces, coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” the command said. “These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels.”
The strikes were not the first. Since January, U.S. and the UK have carried out hundreds of strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in an attempt to deter the group, but to no avail.
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