Yemen's Houthis rebels have captured 16 people and hijacked three ships south of the Red sea, South Korea foreign ministry said.
The ministry said that two of its citizens are among the captured individuals. A total of 16 people in three ships have been captured, reported South Korean state-run Yonhap News Agency citing officials at the nation's foreign ministry on Monday.
All of them have been confirmed safe, according to the agency.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki on Monday said that Houthis seized the ship while it was towing a South Korean oil drilling rig on Sunday.
Al-Malki has alleged that the attack threatened vital shipping routes in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The straits used for oil shipments from the Gulf to Europe as well as goods from Asia to Europe.
"On Sunday, during the sailing of the tugboat Rabigh-3 in the southern Red Sea, it was hijacked and subjected to armed robbery by terrorist elements affiliated to the Houthi militia," said al-Maliki said.
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