DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military Yemen’s Houthi rebels Authorities said Saturday that one merchant sailor was missing and the vessel he was on caught fire in the latest Houthi attack on shipping in the vital Red Sea corridor.
The attack, The U.S. Navy faces its fiercest battle since World War II Seeking to counter the Houthi attacks, rebels say their attacks are meant to thwart Houthi attacks. Israel and Hamas war In Gaza, attacks by Iranian-backed rebels – including Houthi rebels who often target ships and sailors unrelated to the war – have halved traffic along a vital corridor for shipping cargo and energy between Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The military’s Central Command said the U.S. strikes destroyed seven radars in Houthi-controlled territory. It did not provide details about how the radars were destroyed and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.
“These radars enable the Houthis to target vessels at sea and put commercial shipping at risk,” Central Command said in a statement.
The United States said it had destroyed two drone boats loaded with bombs in the Red Sea and one drone launched by the Houthi rebels in the same waterway.
The Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital Sanaa since 2014, have not acknowledged any attacks or military losses, typical of the situation since the United States began airstrikes against rebel targets.
Central Command said one merchant seaman from the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier “Tutor” remained missing following Wednesday’s Houthi attack. Attacked a ship using a drone boat equipped with bombs.
“The crew abandoned ship and were rescued by the USS Philippine Sea and associated forces,” Central Command said in a statement. “The Tutor remains in the Red Sea and is gradually taking on water.”
The British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said on Saturday afternoon that the Tutor was “still on fire and sinking”.
The missing crew members are Filipino, state news agency Philippine News Agency quoted Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacduc as saying. Cacduc said most of the Tutor’s 22 crew members were from the Philippines.
“We are tracing the specific sailor who was on board and are praying that we will find him,” he said Friday night.
The Houthis have more than 50 Attacks on shippingSince November, the Houthis have killed three sailors, captured one ship and sunk another, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration. A U.S.-led air campaign has been targeting the Houthis since January. Series of strikes May 30 The rebels said at least 16 people were killed and 42 were wounded.
More than 37,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the war there, and hundreds more in Israeli military operations in the West Bank, according to Gaza health officials. The war began on Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
“While the Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, they target and threaten the lives of third-country nationals who have no connection to the conflict in the Gaza Strip,” Central Command said. “The Houthis’ ongoing threats to international trade actually make it harder to deliver badly needed aid to the people of Yemen and the Gaza Strip.”
