Yemen's Houthis have damaged an oil tanker and shot down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone as they vow more attacks in opposition to Israel's war in Gaza.
In his latest televised video address, Iran's military spokesman Yahya Saree said early Saturday that the “British oil tanker Andromeda Star” had been targeted in the Red Sea by naval missiles and had taken a direct hit.
The US military confirmed that the group fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea at multiple targets, damaging the MV Andromeda Star. The vessel was recently sold to a company registered in the Seychelles, Reuters reported.
“The MV Andromeda Star reports minor damage but continues its voyage,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X, adding that the US-led naval military coalition deployed to the US suffered no injuries or damage. an area to face attacks from Yemen.
A Houthi army spokesman also said its air defense forces in Yemen also shot down a US army MQ-9 Reaper attack drone with a missile in the airspace of Saada governorate “while it was conducting hostile missions”.
The US military has not commented on the drone, but US broadcaster CBS News confirmed the MQ-9, which costs about $30 million, “crashed” in Yemen early Friday and said an investigation was underway.
It is the third US attack drone shot down by the Houthis since the start of the Gaza war, with the first shot down in November and another in February.
The Yemeni group did not comment on other attacks on vessels in its nearby waterways, but the US military said anti-ship missiles fired by the Houthis also targeted the MV MAISHA, a Liberian-operated, Antigua/Barbados-flagged vessel. No damage reported.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also confirmed two attacks on a vessel – which appears to be the MV Andromeda Star – about 14 nautical miles (26 km) south-west of al-Mukha (Mocha) in Yemen.
It said the first explosion occurred “in close proximity” to the vessel and the second attack, consisting of what is believed to be two missiles, damaged the vessel.
The Houthi army said on Friday it had targeted the “Israeli ship MSC Darwin” in the Gulf of Aden, adding that it had fired a number of missiles and drones at targets in the southern Israeli port city of Eilat.
On Thursday, the group launched an attack on the US flag owned and operated Maersk Yorktown, along with the Israeli ship MSC Veracruz, with US and UK warships defending.
The renewed military activity by the Yemeni group comes after weeks of relative calm in which the number of attacks dropped.
في اليوم الإلى بعد المائيتين مليونية متجرانيكية ملاط حشودُها ميدانَ الس جیہ مم ďزہ م ďفف م ďفف م ďزة ďغزة م ďغزة ďghaza m m ďghaza ص م م م م م م م م م م م ص ص ص ص م م م م م م م م م ص ص ص م ص م م ص م م ص ص ص ص ص ص ص ص ص ص ص ” pic.twitter.com/DgRfdS2SfW
— محمد عبدسلام (@abdusalamsalah) April 26, 2024
Translation: On the third day after 200 days of war, renewed crowds filled al-Sabeen Square in the capital Sanaa in loyalty and support for Gaza in the “With Gaza, Pride and Mobilization” march.
But the group's leader, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, in a speech on Friday dismissed the notion that the drop in attacks was linked to weakened military capabilities and promised more attacks would come.
He also told large crowds of protesters in the capital Sanaa and elsewhere in a televised address that a “new theater of confrontation” had opened as the Houthis were now also targeting ships in the Indian Ocean.
The Houthis say they will halt attacks on one of the world's busiest sea lanes and demand that Israel end the war in Gaza. The Houthi attacks disrupted global trade and affected traffic at the Israeli port of Eilat.
People in Yemen's Houthi-controlled areas have held mass protests every Friday since the start of the war to express solidarity with the Palestinians and condemn Israel and its Western allies.
The Houthis initially targeted only ships linked to Israel passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, but expanded to include US and UK ships after Washington and London launched attacks on Yemen.
Houthi-controlled media said “millions” more took to the streets in governorates across Yemen this Friday as well.
