British Military Reports Attack On Another Ship Near Yemen

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An explosion was reported near a ship off the Red Sea coast of Yemen, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a detachment of the Royal Navy, said on February 1.

“Master reports an explosion a distance off the vessel’s starboard side” to the west of the port city of al-Hudaydah, the UKMTO said in an advisory note without identifying the ship. It added that the “vessel and crew are safe and proceeding to the next port of call.”

The attack came just a day after a missile fired from Yemen by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) hit the Liberian-flagged container ship KOI in the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis alleged that the vessel was American and said that the attack was carried out in response to the war on the Gaza Strip.

The U.S. Central Command launched two waves of strikes on Yemen after the attack on KOI, targeted a surface-to-air missile as well as a done control station and ten suicide drones of the Houthis. Yemeni media said that the strikes hit the outskirts of the northern city of Sa’da and a town near al-Hudaydah. However, no casualties were reported.

At around the same time the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Carney also intercepted an anti-ship ballistic missile and three drones which were launched by the Houthis from Yemen, according to the command.

The Houthis have targeted dozens of Israel-affiliated vessels and others owned by the U.S. and the UK since November 19 in response to the ongoing Israeli war and siege on Gaza, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 26,000 Palestinains.

The U.S. and the UK retaliated by carrying out dozens of strikes on military targets on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in recent weeks. However, the group appears to be determined to go on with its naval campaign.

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