DUBAI, February 6. /TASS/. Yemen's Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah has attacked two vessels belonging to the US and the UK in Red Sea waters, the movement's spokesman, Yahya Saria, said.
"The Yemeni navy conducted two military operations in the Red Sea, the first of which targeted the US vessel Star Nasia and the second [aimed at] the UK vessel Morning Tide," he told the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV channel.
Both vessels were hit "directly and accurately" by anti-ship missiles, the spokesman added. He pointed out that the Houthis "will carry out better military operations against all hostile US and UK targets in the Red and Arabian Seas as part of the legitimate right to respond to aggression."
Earlier, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported the incident, which occurred in the Red Sea 57 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. The agency described the incident as an attack, without providing further details. The Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Star Nasia left the US port of Norfolk for India's Vishakhapatnam on January 1, according to vessel tracking service Marine Traffic. The vessel last reported its location on Tuesday from the waters of the Gulf of Aden. The Barbados-flagged dry bulk vessel Morning Tide left Varna, Bulgaria, on January 28. No port of destination information is available on the service's website. On February 3, the ship passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea and continued its journey with its transponders turned off.
With the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalating, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement announced that it would conduct strikes on Israeli territory and block pro-Israeli vessels from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceases its military operation in the Palestinian enclave. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since mid-November of last year.
On the night of January 12, US and UK forces launched strikes using aircraft, ships and submarines against Yemeni rebel movement targets in a number of cities, including Sanaa and Hodeidah. US President Joe Biden said that the strike was carried out in response to unprecedented attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea and was defensive. The targets included missile sites, UAVs and the Houthis’ radar stations.
On February 4, US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported conducting yet another series of strikes on Yemen, with the targets of the attacks being five cruise missiles launched by the Houthis. On February 3, American and British forces struck 36 Houthi-affiliated targets.