Yemen War

Explosions near ship in Red Sea suspected to be 'Houthi rebel' attack

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels saw multiple explosions strike near a vessel travelling through the Red Sea on Tuesday, though no damage was immediately reported by the ship, authorities said. The attack comes as the rebels continue their monthslong assault targeting shipping through a waterway that typically sees $1 trillion in goods pass through it a year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel's ground offensive in Lebanon. The Houthis have insisted that the attacks will continue as long as the wars go on, and the assaults already have halved shipping through the region. A vessel in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, reported the attack, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. No one was wounded on board in the blasts, and the ship was continuing on its journey, the UKMTO added. The Houthis didn't immediately claim the attack. Howeve

Soldier with Yemen's exiled govt opens fire on Saudi troops killing two men

A soldier for Yemen's exiled government opened fire on Saudi troops as they exercised in eastern Yemen, killing two of them and wounding another in a rare insider attack during the kingdom's nearly decadelong war there, officials said Saturday. The assault in eastern Hadramawt province comes as a yearslong cease-fire between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels largely has held despite the militants' ongoing attacks against shipping in the Red Sea corridor. While the Houthis did not claim the attack, at least one Houthi official praised it as being the beginning and an indication of a harsh future awaiting the invaders. Meanwhile, US warplanes carried out new strikes targeting Houthi positions that lasted into early Sunday morning, the American military said. The strikes come after the militants likely shot down yet-another American reconnaissance drone over the country. The attack on the Saudi troops took place Friday night in Seiyun, a city some 500 kilometers (310 miles) east o

Yemen's Houthi rebels suspected of firing missiles at a container ship

Two missiles suspected to have been fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Aden late Friday, splashing down nearby without causing any damage, authorities said. The attack comes after the Houthis repeatedly assaulted and then boarded a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the nearby Red Sea, planting explosives on it they later detonated. That attack, the worst in weeks, risked a major oil spill as the rebels' campaign disrupts the USD 1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, as well as halting some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen. The attack Friday saw two missiles exploding in close proximity to the vessel some 240 kilometres east of Aden, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. The ship reports all crew are safe and proceeding to next port of call, the UKMTO said. Investigations are ongoing. The Joint Maritime Information

US imposes more sanctions targeting Houthi, Hezbollah trade networks

The US Treasury Department in a statement said it targeted companies, individuals and vessels accused of being involved in the shipment of Iranian commodities

Three suspected Houthi attacks target a ship off Yemen: US authorities

Three suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait linking the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, including one that saw private security guards shoot and destroy a bomb-loaded drone boat, authorities said Friday. The Houthis did not immediately claim the assaults, though they follow a monthslong campaign by the rebels targeting shipping through the Red Sea corridor over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. After a recent two-week pause, their attacks resumed following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, amid concerns of a wider regional war. Iran backs the Houthis as part of what it calls a regional Axis of Resistance. The operations are ongoing our operations toward occupied Palestine to target the Israeli enemy, our operations at sea, the inevitable forthcoming response, as well as coordination with the axis in any joint operations, warned the Houthi's secretive leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, in a speech ...

US destroys Houthi anti-ship missiles in Yemen; F-22 jets land in West Asia

US forces successfully destroyed one Houthi uncrewed surface vessel in the Red Sea, it said in a press statement on Thursday

Houthi forces strike vessel in Red sea using drone, officials say

The drone attack happened around dawn off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said

Ship attacked by Houthis in assault sinks in Red Sea in second such sinking

A bulk carrier sank days after an attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels believed to have killed one mariner on board, authorities said early Wednesday, the second such ship to be sunk in the rebel campaign. The Tutor sank in the Red Sea, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said in a warning to sailors in the region. "Military authorities report maritime debris and oil sighted in the last reported location," the UKMTO said. "The vessel is believed to have sunk." The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the sinking. The Tutor came under attack a week ago by a bomb-carrying Houthi drone boat in the Red Sea. John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said Monday that the attack killed "a crew member who hailed from the Philippines".

US targets Houthi radar sites in Yemen after merchant sailor goes missing

The United States military unleashed a wave of attacks targeting radar sites operated by Yemen's Houthi rebels over their assaults on shipping in the crucial Red Sea corridor, authorities said Saturday, after one merchant sailor went missing following an earlier Houthi strike on a ship. The attacks come as the US Navy faces the most intense combat its seen since World War II in trying to counter the Houthi campaign attacks the rebels say are meant to halt the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. However, the Iranian-backed rebel assaults often see the Houthis target ships and sailors who have nothing to do with the war while traffic remains halved through a corridor vital for cargo and energy shipments between Asia, Europe and the Mideast. US strikes destroyed seven radars within Houthi-controlled territory, the military's Central Command said. It did not elaborate on how the sites were destroyed and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. These radars ..

Yemen's Houthi missile strikes on 2 ships in Gulf of Aden, says US military

The Iran-backed Houthis hit the Tavvishi, a Liberian-flagged and Swiss-owned container ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile

Yemen's Houthi rebels detain 11 UN staffers in sudden crackdown: Officials

Eleven Yemeni employees of United Nations agencies have been detained by Yemen's Houthi rebels under unclear circumstances, authorities said Friday, as the rebels face increasing financial pressure and airstrikes from a US-led coalition. Others working for aid groups also likely have been taken. The detentions come as the Houthis, who seized Yemen's capital nearly a decade ago and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since shortly after, have been targeting shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. But while gaining more attention internationally, the secretive group has cracked down at dissent at home, including recently sentencing 44 people to death. Regional officials, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to brief journalists, initially confirmed at least nine UN detentions. Those held include staff from the UN human rights agency, its development programme, the World Food ...

Houthis may have a hypersonic missile, could raise stakes in Red Sea crisis

Yemen's Houthi rebels claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia's state media reported on Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified official but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its grinding war on Ukraine. However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about surprises they plan for the battles at sea to counter the United States and its allies, which have so far been able to down any missile or bomb-carrying drone that comes near their warships in Mideast waters. On Thursday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthis' secretive supreme leader, said the rebels will start hitting ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope in Africa's southern tip. Until now, the rebels have largely .

Gaza war, Red Sea attacks may push Yemen back into war, says UN envoy

The longer the war in Gaza goes on and Yemen's Houthi rebels keep attacking ships in the Red Sea the greater the risk that Yemen could be propelled back into war, the UN special envoy for the poorest Arab nation warned on Thursday. Hans Grundberg told the UN Security Council it has been impossible to shield his promising efforts to restore peace to Yemen because the reality is, what happens regionally impacts Yemen and what happens in Yemen can impact the region. Since November, the Iranian-backed Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea to demand a cease-fire in Israel's offensive in Gaza. It began after Gaza's Hamas rulers launched a surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 that killed about 1,200 people and led to about 250 others being taken captive. Israel's ongoing military operation has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The Houthi attacks targeting vessels since November, however, have increasingly had little or no connecti

Red Sea crisis impact on trade data will be visible in FY24: GTRI

With escalating everyday attacks and no end in sight, the Red Sea crisis will adversely impact trade volumes in substantial ways in 2024, according to the report of economic think tank GTRI. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that rising shipping, and insurance costs and delayed arrival of shipments will continue to disrupt global value chains, squeeze margins, and make exports of many low-margin products unviable from current locations. Countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe will face the most disruption across industries, it added. It said that the disruption is significantly impacting Indian trade, especially with the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. India, heavily reliant on the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait for crude oil and LNG imports and trade with key regions, faces substantial economic and security risks from any disruption in this area. About 65 per cent of India's crude oil imports in FY2023, valued at USD 105 billion, from countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and ...

Houthi attack kills 3 crew members in rebels' 1st fatal assault on shipping

A missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday killed three of its crew members and forced survivors to abandon the vessel, the U.S. military said. It was the first fatal strike in a campaign of assaults by the Iranian-backed group over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The attack on the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence further escalates the conflict on a crucial maritime route linking Asia and the Middle East to Europe that has disrupted global shipping. The Houthis have launched attacks since November, and the U.S. began an airstrike campaign in January that so far hasn't halted their attacks. Meanwhile, Iran announced Wednesday that it would confiscate a $50 million cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil for American energy firm Chevron Corp. aboard a tanker it seized nearly a year earlier. It is the latest twist in a yearslong shadow war playing out in the Middle East's waterways even before the Houthi ...

Ships entering Yemeni waters must obtain permit, says Houthi minister

In normal times, more than a quarter of global container cargo - including apparel, appliances, auto parts, chemicals and agricultural products like coffee - move via the Suez Canal

US conducts 2 strikes against 6 anti-ship cruise missiles in Red Sea

The strikes come amid heightened tensions in the region, where Houthi fighters have carried out attacks on commercial and military shipping since November

Houthi rebels allegedly fire rocket off ship travelling through Red Sea

A rocket exploded late Tuesday night off the side of a ship travelling through the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, authorities said, the latest suspected attack to be carried out by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The attack comes as the Houthis continue a series of assaults at sea over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and as the US and its allies launch airstrikes trying to stop them. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, which oversees shipping in the Mideast, reported the attack happened about 110 kilometres off the coast of the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida. The rocket exploded several miles off the bow of the vessel, it said. The crew and vessel are reported to be safe and are proceeding to next port of call, the UKMTO said. The private security firm Ambrey reported that the vessel targeted appeared to be a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier in the area at the time. Another ship, a Panama-flagged, Emirati-owned chemical tanker

Yemen's Houthi rebels force Israel to intercept another attack near Eilat

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched attacks Thursday on both Israel and a ship travelling through the Gulf of Aden, setting the vessel ablaze and again demonstrating their ability to launch assaults despite facing US-led airstrikes targeting their forces. The rebels' supreme leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, announced an the escalation in sea operations conducted by his forces as part of what they describe a pressure campaign to end Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Houthis' targets have grown more random since their attacks began in November, endangering a vital waterway for cargo and energy shipments travelling from Asia and the Middle East onward to Europe. The attack Thursday in the Gulf of Aden saw two missiles fired at a Palau-flagged cargo ship named Islander, the US military's Central Command said. A European naval force in the region described the attack as sparking a fire and wounding one sailor on board the vessel, though the ship is continuing on its way. The ...

Russia, China accuse US, UK of attacking Yemen rebels' military sites

Russia and China on Wednesday accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by Yemen's Houthi rebels to launch missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping. US deputy ambassador Robert Wood and UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward countered that the Houthi attacks are illegal, and their proportionate and legal action against the Yemen rebels are being taken in self-defense. Woodward said the Houthi attacks are driving up the costs of global shipping, including the costs of food supplies and humanitarian aid in the region. But Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky and China's U.N. envoy Zhang Jun argued that the U.N. Security Council never authorized military action against Yemen. The clashes came at a council meeting where U.N. special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said promising efforts to restore peace to Yemen have been slowed by rising regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza and "in particular the militar