SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis announced on Tuesday they had targeted a cargo ship in the Red Sea, while a multinational naval task force said two missiles had struck near the Panama-flagged vessel.

Since last November, Houthis have been targeting shipping in and around the Red Sea in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels “carried out an operation targeting the ship ‘Anadolu S’ in the Red Sea with a number of appropriate ballistic and naval missiles”, adding that the “hit was accurate and direct”. But the Bahrain-based Combined Task Force later said two missiles had hit near the Anadolu S on Sunday and Monday without causing any damage.

It said that on Monday, the ship was “ordered to alter course to the north”, adding that the “vessel did not comply with the order and continued its transit”. It later “reported a missile splashed” about three metres away from the vessel’s stern but caused no casualties or damage, noting that the ship continued on its path.

The following day, another missile hit one nautical mile from the vessel, the CTF’s Joint Maritime Information Centre said, also without causing damage. “Vessel and crew are reported safe and continuing to next port of call,” it said.

“The JMIC has investigated and found an indirect association to Israel.” Saree had said that the rebels had targeted the ship “because it did not respond to the warnings of the naval forces and because the company that owns it violated the ban decision on entry to the ports of occupied Palestine (Israel)”.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024