A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels has targeted a ship in the Gulf of Aden
Yemen's Houthi rebels saw an explosive detonate near a ship early Sunday in the Gulf of Aden, potentially marking their latest assault on shipping through the crucial waterway leading to the Red Sea.
The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the vessel's crew saw the blast as it passed off the coast of Aden, the port city in southern Yemen home to the country's exiled government.
«No damage to the vessel has been reported and the crew are reported safe,» UKMTO said.
The Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks in the same area, disrupting energy and cargo shipments through the Gulf of Aden.
The rebels did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, though it typically takes the Houthis several hours before acknowledging their assaults.
Separately, the U.S. military's Central Command said it carried out a series of strikes targeting the Houthis. It said it destroyed five drone boats and one drone before takeoff from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen on Saturday. It was an unusually high number of drone boats to be destroyed.
Separately, the U.S. military shot down one Houthi drone over the Red Sea, while another was «presumed to have crashed.»
«There were no reports of damage or injuries from ships in the vicinity,» Central Command said.
The Houthis have attacked ships since November, saying they want to force Israel to end its offensive in the Gaza Strip against Hamas.
The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, largely have had little or no
