- author, George Wright
- role, BBC News
The US military said two cruise missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, seriously injuring one crew member.
U.S. Central Command (CentCom) reported that the injured sailor was airlifted to another ship for treatment.
It added that crew members were trying to extinguish the fire on board the MV Verbena, a Palau-flagged, Ukrainian-owned and Polish-operated ship.
The nationalities of the crew members have not been disclosed.
The Houthis said they had attacked three ships, including the MV Verbena, in the past 24 hours “in retaliation for the crimes committed against our people in the Gaza Strip and in response to the US and British aggression against our country.”
The armed Houthis position themselves as part of an Iranian-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the United States and the West.
Rebels have been attacking ships they say are linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, saying their actions are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The United States and Britain have retaliated by carrying out a series of attacks on Houthi positions in Yemen, with the Houthis retaliating against ships believed to be linked to the two countries.
“The Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, but they are targeting and threatening the lives of nationals of third countries that have nothing to do with the conflict in the Gaza Strip,” Central Command said.
Rebel attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea have led many shipping companies to stop using the waterway, which carries about 12 percent of the world’s maritime trade.
On Wednesday, the Houthis used a maritime drone to target the Liberian-flagged ship “Tutor” in the Red Sea. No casualties were reported.
