Illustrative image.
The Houthis (Ansar Allah), who are backed by Iran, continue to launch attacks from Yemen in response to the Israeli war and siege on the Gaza Strip, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 31,000 Palestinians.
On March 16, the United States Central Command announced that the group fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles from its areas in Yemen in the direction of the Red Sea a day earlier. There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., allies, or commercial ships, according to the command.
At around the same time, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a detachment of the Royal Navy, said it had received a report of an incident 65 nautical miles west of the Houthi-held Yemeni port city of al-Hodeidah where the master of a merchant vessel reported an explosion a distance off the vessel’s starboard beam.
“There is no damage to the vessel and the crew are reported safe. The vessel is continuing to its next port of call,” UKMTO added in an advisory note.
British security firm Ambrey also reported that a vessel was targeted approximately 80 nautical miles northwest of al-Hodeidah, yet the crew was safe.
It was unclear if Ambrey and UKMTO were reporting the same incident. From their side, the Houthis are yet to announce any new attacks.
The Houthis have attacked over 60 Israel-affiliated vessels and others owned by the U.S. and the UK in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since last November in response to the Israeli war and siege on Gaza.
The U.S. and the UK carried out hundreds of strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in recent months. At least 34 people were killed in the strikes. Despite this, the Houthis remain unfettered.
Earlier this week, the Houthis announced that it will be expanding its operations to cover the vessels linked to Israel in the Indian Ocean, as they travel toward the Cape of Good Hope. Recent reports also revealed that the group had successfully tested a hypersonic ballistic missile capable of reaching Israel within a few minutes.
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