A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit a cargo truck in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, with the crew reporting three deaths and at least four wounded, the US military said.
The Iran-backed Houthis target merchant ships passing through the vital Red Sea trade route and have struck ships in the region in the past, but the deaths on Wednesday appear to be the first casualties from such an attack.
An anti-ship ballistic missile hit the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned M/V True Confidence, after which its crew reported “three deaths, at least four injuries, three critically, and significant damage to the vessel.” , the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
“The crew abandoned the ship and coalition warships responded and are assessing the situation,” the military command said, noting that the attack was the fifth time the Houthis had fired a ballistic missile at ships in two days.
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“These reckless Houthi attacks have disrupted global trade and cost the lives of international seafarers,” CENTCOM added.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Shari said on social media that the True Confidence was targeted by multiple missiles “after the ship’s crew rejected warning messages” from the Houthis.
Months of attacks
The British embassy in Sana’a earlier said the toll was at least two dead, describing the loss of life as “the sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthi’s reckless firing of missiles at international shipping”.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron meanwhile promised that “we will continue to defend freedom of navigation and back up our words with actions.”
The United States and Britain have since January launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks, but the rebels have continued to target merchant ships.
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They began attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in November, a campaign they say is meant to signal solidarity with the Palestinians in the devastating Gaza war.
The Houthis have vowed to strike Israeli, British and American ships, as well as ships bound for Israeli ports, disrupting traffic through the vital trade route off the coast of Yemen.
The latest incident comes after a Belizean-flagged, Lebanese-operated ship sank with 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate fertilizer on board.
The ship, named Rubymar, has been in the water since a Houthi missile strike on February 18 damaged its hull and forced the evacuation of its crew to Djibouti.
The flurry of Houthi strikes has caused many major shipping companies to suspend transit through the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12 percent of global trade.
Source: AFP