Jan 15, 2024. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
A missile
struck a US-owned cargo ship off the coast of Yemen on Monday, a British
security agency and maritime risk company said, a day after Houthi rebels fired
a cruise missile at an American destroyer.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations security agency, run by Britain's Royal Navy, reported a "vessel hit from above by a missile" in the Gulf of Aden. It did not provide further details.
According
to Ambrey, a British maritime risk company, a fire broke out on board the
Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned bulk carrier, but it remains seaworthy and
there were no injuries.
United
States Central Command identified the ship as the M/V Gibraltar Eagle.
The
incident will further heighten shipping and security fears for the volatile
region where the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have for weeks fired drones and
missiles towards vessels they deem Israeli-linked in the adjacent Red Sea.
United
States and United Kingdom forces responded on Friday with strikes against
scores of rebel targets in Yemen, which the Houthis said would not deter them.
Three
missiles were launched by the Houthis, Ambrey said, with two of them not
reaching the sea.
Ambrey
"assessed the attack to have targeted US interests in response to US
military strikes on Houthi military positions in Yemen", the report said,
adding that the vessel was "assessed to not be Israel-affiliated".
"The
impact reportedly caused a fire in a hold. The bulker reportedly remained
seaworthy, and no injuries were reported," it said.
The ship
was transiting the International Recommended Transit Corridor, a passage of the
Gulf of Aden that is patrolled for pirates, when it was struck, Ambrey added.
There was
no immediate statement from the rebels, but Houthi military and a Yemeni
government source told AFP that the insurgents fired three missiles on Monday.
The US
military said Sunday its forces shot down a cruise missile fired at an American
destroyer warship from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen. It appeared to be the
first such attack on an American destroyer.
The Houthis
say their attacks on Red Sea shipping are in solidarity with Gaza, where
Iran-backed Hamas militants have been at war with Israel for more than three
months.
AFP
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