Page 3 - Yemen

'Grim forecast for next 5 years': S Jaishankar on current global challenges

EAM S Jaishankar acknowledged that, despite his generally optimistic outlook, the world is currently facing an exceptionally challenging period

Suspected Houthi attack targets ship in southern Red Sea, officials say

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the southern reaches of the Red Sea early Tuesday, officials said, the latest in their campaign of assaults over the Israel-Hamas war. The attack comes as Yemen's main sponsor, Iran, weighs a possible retaliatory attack against Israel over the assassination of Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh in late July, which has renewed fears of a wider regional war breaking out across the Mideast. Already, the Houthi assaults have have disrupted the $1 trillion of goods that flow annually through the maritime route crucial to trade between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, while also sparking the most intense combat the US Navy has seen since World War II. The attack happened around 115 kilometres (70 miles) south of the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. The attack saw an explosive detonate near the ship, though the vessel and crew are reported safe, the UKMTO

Suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi targets ship in Bab el-Mandeb Strait

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship on Thursday in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, authorities said. The Houthis did not immediately claim the assault, though it follows 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 have resumed following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the Houthis' main benefactor, amid renewed concerns over the war breaking out into a regional conflict. The attack saw a rocket-propelled grenade explode close to the ship, according to the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre. Two smaller craft, with men aboard wearing white and yellow raincoats, launched the RPG, the UKMTO said. The vessel and crew are reported to be safe, and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call, the centre added. Authorities are ...

US military destroys Iranian-backed Houthi cruise missile in Yemen

A suspected missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck a container ship travelling through the Gulf of Aden, authorities said on Sunday, likely the first assault by the group since Israeli airstrikes targeted them. The Houthis have offered no explanation for the two-week pause in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor, which have seen similar slowdowns since the assaults began in November over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the resumption comes after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the Houthis' main benefactor, amid renewed concerns over the war breaking out into a regional conflict. The attack on Saturday happened some 225 kilometers (140 miles) southeast of Aden in a stretch of the Gulf of Aden that has seen numerous Houthi attacks previously. A security official on the vessel said a missile struck the vessel, but no fires, water ingress or oil leaks have been observed, according to a statement from the British military'

Houthi sea-drone strikes on vessels require armed-guards review: India

India's Directorate General of Shipping said in a notice on its website that the recent spate of sea-drone attacks has raised the question of how effective some private security providers are

Struck several Houthi targets in Yemen in response to attacks: Israel Army

The Israeli army says it has struck several Houthi targets in western Yemen on Saturday following a fatal drone attack by the rebel group in Tel Aviv the previous day. A number of military targets were hit in the western port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold, the Israeli army said, adding that its attack was in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the state of Israel in recent months. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote on social media platform X that Yemen was subjected to a blatant Israeli aggression that targeted fuel storage facilities and the province's power station. He said the attacks aim to increase the suffering of the people and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza. Abdulsalam said the attacks will only make the people of Yemen and its armed forces more determined to support Gaza.

Houthi militants strike, damage Singapore-flagged vessel in Gulf of Aden

A Singapore-flagged vessel was damaged in an attack allegedly by Houthi militants southeast of Yemen on Friday, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement. The MPA said it was informed that container vessel the LOBIVIA was hit by "unidentified projectiles" while transiting the Gulf of Aden, resulting in a fire onboard that was subsequently extinguished by the crew. There are no Singaporeans among the crew, Channel News Asia reported, citing the authority and adding that all crew are accounted for and safe. Despite being hit, the vessel was able to set sail and arrived at Somalia's Berbera Port. Damage assessment and repairs, if needed, will be carried out, it said. MPA said it is in contact with the vessel manager to provide any assistance that might be needed. The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has also alerted its security partners in the Gulf of Aden region to provide help, it added. In a televised speech, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea s

Drone strike by Houthi rebels kills one, wounds at least 10 in Tel Aviv

An Iranian-made drone sent by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck Tel Aviv on Friday, leaving one person dead and at least 10 wounded in the group's first lethal strike into Israel. The aerial strike rumbled through the center of the city near the US Embassy, causing shrapnel to rain down and spreading shards of glass over a large radius. The hit in Israel's biggest city was startling because the drone appeared to have crossed much of the country through the multilayered air defenses that have intercepted almost all of the drones and rockets that Yemen's Houthis have been launching toward Israel since the Gaza war began. Most have failed even to reach Israel's southernmost city, Eilat, on the Red Sea some 270 kilometers (160 miles) south of Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said it was investigating what went wrong. Chief spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the drone was detected by air defenses, but an error occurred and there was no interception." We are investigating the entire cha

Yemen's Houthi rebels launch two missile attacks targeting ships in Red Sea

Two attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted ships in the Red Sea on Monday as a new US aircraft carrier approached the region to provide security for the key international trade route that has been under assault since the Israel-Hamas war erupted nine months ago. Three small Houthi vessels, two of which were crewed and another uncrewed, attacked the Panama-flagged and Israeli-owned MT Bently I off the coast of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, according to British and American authorities. The reported unmanned small craft collided with the vessel twice and the 2 manned small craft fired at the vessel," the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre reported. The vessel conducted self-protection measures, after 15 minutes the small craft aborted the attack." The captain later reported three separate waves of missile attacks that exploded in close proximity to the vessel. Later on Monday, in a separate incident off the same coast, the MT Chios Lion, a Liberian-flagged an

Yemen's Houthi rebels launch a suspected attack on a ship in Red Sea

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, as a new US aircraft carrier approached the region to provide security for the key international trade route that has been under assault since the Israel-Hamas war erupted nine months ago. The captain of the ship reported being attacked by three small vessels, two of which were crewed and another uncrewed, off the coast of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. The reported unmanned small craft collided with the vessel twice and the 2 manned small craft fired at the vessel", the UKMTO reported. The vessel conducted self-protection measures, after 15 minutes the small craft aborted the attack." The captain later reported two separate waves of missile attacks, approximately 45 minutes apart, that exploded in close proximity to the vessel. The ship, whose name and flag were not released, and all crew are reported safe, the UKMTO said in a warni

Suspected attack by Houthis targets ship transiting Bab el-Mandeb Strait

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a Liberian-flagged tanker in the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday, as authorities acknowledged the rebels launched their longest-range attack yet on a US-flagged vessel near the Arabian Sea. The attacks come after an unexplained pause of a week and a half. The rebels may be regrouping ahead of the arrival of a new U.S. aircraft carrier to the region after the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower began heading home. The Joint Maritime Information Center, which is overseen by the U.S. Navy, identified the Liberian-flagged vessel as the Mount Fuji. The attack occurred south of Mocha, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The captain reported explosions off the vessel's side. The vessel and all crew are safe, the UKMTO said. The vessel is proceeding to its next port of call. The Houthis have been attacking ships in the busy Red Sea corridor since November after the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza. Th

'Houthis could free detained political leader under swap deal,' says UN

Yemen's Houthi rebels could free a political leader with ties to the internationally recognised government who has been detained for nearly a decade, under a preliminary prisoner swap deal announced by the United Nations on Monday. Mohamed Qahtan is the leader of the Sunni Islamist Islah party, which is aligned with the Saudi Arabia-backed government, and he has been held incommunicado by the Iranian-backed Houthis since 2015, the United Nations said. The office of UN special envoy Hans Grundberg convened a meeting in Oman with the International Committee of the Red Cross over the weekend to facilitate talks centred on a prisoner exchange, in accordance with the 2018 Stockholm Agreement, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The two Yemeni sides agreed to meet to discuss the final list of who will be released and the details of Qahtan's release, Dujarric said, without providing details on the potential agreement. Qahtan's release has been a point of contention for years, Dujarric ..

Aerial drone likely launched by Yemen's Houthi hits ship in Red Sea

An aerial drone likely launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck and damaged a vessel in the Red Sea on Sunday, officials said, the latest attack by the group targeting the vital maritime corridor. The attack comes as the US has sent the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower back home after an eight-month deployment that saw it lead the American response to the Houthi assaults. Those attacks have seen shipping drastically drop through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on. 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 center said. It said the vessel sustained damage but its mariners on board were reported safe. It did not elaborate on the extent of the damage, but said an investigation was ongoing. The private security firm Ambrey identified the ship involved as a

Ship sinks in Red Sea after attack by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have launched numerous missile, drone attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since Israel's invasion of Gaza following Hamas' October attack on Southern Israel

US aircraft carrier counters false Houthi claims with 'Taco Tuesdays'

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower may be one of the oldest aircraft carriers in the US Navy, but it's still fighting despite repeated false claims by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis and online accounts supporting them repeatedly have alleged they hit or even sank the carrier in the Red Sea as it leads the US response to the rebels' ongoing attacks targeting both commercial vessels and warships in the crucial waterway. That's put its leader, Capt. Christopher Chowdah Hill, and his social media profile directly in what has become an increasingly bizarre internet front line as the campaign goes on. And while he shrugs off his posts, they represent the new level of information warfare the Navy is having to fight as it faces its most intense combat since World War II and tries to keep the morale of the nearly 5,000 personnel aboard the Eisenhower high and munitions ready as their deployment stretches on. I think it's been about two or three times in the past six months we've allegedly bee

Fight for control of Yemen's banks between rebels, govt to wreck economy

Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognised government are locked in a fight for control of the country's banks that experts warn is threatening to further wreck an economy already crippled by nearly a decade of war. The rivalry over the banks is throwing Yemen's financial system into deeper turmoil. Already, the Houthis who control the north and centre of the country and the government running the south use different currency notes with different exchange rates. They also run rival central banks. The escalating money divide is eroding the value of Yemen's currency, the riyal, which had driven up prices for clothing and meat before the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha started on Sunday. For weeks, Yemenis in Houthi-controlled areas have been unable to pull their money out of bank savings accounts, reportedly because the Houthi-run central bank, based in the capital, Sanaa, has stopped providing liquidity to commercial and government banks. Protests have broken out in fron

Ship evacuated, ablaze after attack by Yemen's Houthis, says UKMTO

The Houthi campaign in the Red Sea region has disrupted global shipping, cascading delays and costs through supply chains

Houthi crackdown: Rebels launch missile attack on cargo ship. Top points

The UN and three other agencies have asked the Houthis to release 17 detained staff and aid workers

Missile strike from Houthi rebels sets cargo ship on fire in Gulf of Aden

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched two anti-ship cruise missiles and struck a commercial ship Thursday in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen, setting it on fire and severely wounding one civilian mariner, authorities said. The M/V Verbena was still ablaze and the mariner was flown by a US helicopter based on the USS Philippine Sea to another nearby ship for medical treatment, the US military's Central Command said. In a statement, Central Command said the Verbena is a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned and Polish-operated bulk cargo carrier that had docked in Malaysia and was on its way to Italy carrying wood. The M/V Verbena reported damage and subsequent fires on board. The crew continues to fight the fire, the statement said. The attack is the latest such assault in the Houthis' campaign over the Israel-Hamas war. Earlier Thursday, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a vessel had been attacked and had caught fire. And the private security firm Ambrey sa

Houthis claim to break up US-Israel spy network after arresting UN staffers

Yemen's Houthi rebels said Monday they had arrested members of an American-Israeli spy network, days after detaining at least 11 UN staffers along with others from aid organisations. Maj. Gen. Abdulhakim al-Khayewani, head of the Houthis' intelligence agency, announced the arrests, saying the spy network had first operated out of the US Embassy in Sanaa. Then after it was closed in 2015 following the Houthi takeover of the capital Sanaa and northern Yemen, they continued their subversive agenda under the cover of international and UN organisations, he said. He did not say how many people were arrested. Houthi authorities issued what they purported to be videotaped confessions by 10 Yemenis, several of whom said they were recruited by the US Embassy. They did not include any of the UN employees who were arrested. The Houthis' claims could not be independently verified. The United Nations on Friday announced the arrests of 11 Yemeni staffers. Six worked for the UN's human rights agenc