The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November 2023 in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with the Palestinians.
On Wednesday, March 6, a Houthi missile attack on a merchant ship in the Red Sea killed two sailors. These are the first victims of the Iranian-backed Yemeni group's strikes on ships along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
This is reported by Reuters with reference to British and American officials.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack that set the Barbados-flagged Greek ship True Confidence on fire some 50 nautical miles (about 90 km) off the coast of the Yemeni port of Aden.
“At least 2 innocent sailors were killed. It was a sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at an international vessel. They must stop,” the British Embassy in Yemen said in a post online X.
A senior US official also confirmed the deaths of two sailors.
The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November 2023 as part of what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war with the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. According to the militants, their targets are ships associated with Israel, the United States and Great Britain.
The True Confidence is owned by Liberia-registered True Confidence Shipping and operated by Greek company Third January Maritime, the two companies said in a joint statement. They said the ship had no communications with the United States.
Four days ago, the Rubimar, a British-owned bulk carrier, became the first ship to sink in a Houthi attack after floating for two weeks with serious damage from a missile strike. The entire crew was safely evacuated from this vessel.
The Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa. The cost of insuring a seven-day Red Sea trip has risen by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Recall that in January of this year, the Houthis attacked a US ship with ballistic missiles.
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