DUBAI, December 12. /TASS/. Yemeni Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement struck the Strinda, a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker bound for Israel, with an anti-ship missile while the vessel was traversing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, movement spokesman Yahya Sarea said.

"Yemen’s Naval Forces <...> conducted an operation against the Norwegian vessel Strinda, which was carrying oil to the Israeli entity. It was hit with an anti-ship missile," the rebels said in a statement, which Sarea in turn posted on Telegram.

The Houthis claim to have prevented the passage of a number of ships that had failed to respond to warnings from the Yemeni Navy in the past two days. According to the statement, the Norwegian ship was attacked after "its crew rejected all warnings."

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a division of the Royal Navy, reported on the night of December 12 that a vessel came under fire in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in waters off of the port of Mokha in southwestern Yemen. The incident caused the vessel to catch fire but the crew was reported to be safe and unharmed. The Associated Press reported later, citing private intelligence companies, that the Norwegian ship Strinda carrying oil and chemicals had been attacked in the Red Sea. The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the attack, adding that an anti-ship cruise missile had been launched from a Houthi-controlled area. CENTCOM said that the US Navy destroyer USS Mason had responded to the Strinda’s Mayday call.