The Houthi attack on the Bab al-Mandeb ship claimed six lives, according to Yemen’s authorities

The internationally recognised government of Yemen has accused the Houthi rebel group of carrying out a double-tap attack on a cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, killing at least six persons and injuring ten more.

Since the United States and Israel began the war on Iran on February 28, the attack on the Egyptian-owned Tihamah on Tuesday represents the first shipping casualties connected to the Iran-aligned Houthis. According to Yemen’s Transport Ministry, the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the commercial ship, starting a fire and causing “significant damage,” which resulted in the deaths of three Pakistanis and one Indonesian.

Yemen’s coastguard said in a separate statement that the Houthis fired another missile at the ship as rescue personnel were evacuating the dead and wounded.“The attack struck the site of the rescue operation and resulted in deaths and injuries among the forces participating in the response operation,” the coastguard said.

The second strike resulted in the deaths of at least two soldiers. It further stated that a total of ten persons, including seven crew members, were injured. The incident was denounced by Yemen’s Foreign Ministry, which also urged the world to “move from condemnation to effective and decisive action” against the Houthis.

The Houthis did not make an official statement. However, the rebels targeted a Saudi ship transporting military supplies at Bab al-Mandeb, according to the Houthi-run news agency Saba. The ship was not identified, and Saudi Arabia did not react to the report right away.

In a another incident on Tuesday, the US military claimed to have opened fire on a ship that was trying to escape its blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman. The US Central Command reported that a Navy helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at the cargo ship Vela Nova flying the Panamanian flag, although it did not specify whether any crew members were hurt. The escalation in Yemen comes after a years-long ceasefire between the Houthis and the internationally recognised government supported by Saudi Arabia broke down.

Following a Saudi airstrike on Sanaa airport’s runway on July 13, which stopped an Iranian plane carrying a senior Houthi delegation from landing, the United Nations-backed 2022 truce broke down.

The Houthis then declared a blockade of Saudi trade in the Red Sea and assaulted the Abha airport in southwest Saudi Arabia. They have further disrupted the world economy by attacking Saudi ships and the kingdom’s oil installations. In response, the Saudi-led coalition attacked Kamaran, Yemen’s largest island in the Red Sea, and Hodeidah, which are under Houthi control.

Numerous servicemen and civilians have been killed by the Houthis’ raids on government-held parts of Yemen, such as the central city of Marib and the port city of al-Makha (Mocha) on the Red Sea.