Yemen says its armed forces fired missiles at a British ship passing though the Gulf of Aden on Thursday and scored a “direct hit” in their latest operation in solidarity with the Palestinians.
The forces carried out “a military operation targeting a British ship… while it was sailing through the Gulf of Aden”, military spokesman Yahya Saree said on social media.
Two Western maritime security agencies earlier reported an explosion near a vessel off the coast of Yemen.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the ship reported “an explosion in close proximity to the vessel” east of Yemen’s Aden, adding the vessel was sailing to its next port of call.
Security firm Ambrey said a “bulk carrier was targeted by an explosive projectile whilst transiting” east of Aden.
The projectile, Ambrey said, exploded off the vessel and caused “minor damage due to shrapnel impacting a diesel generator pipe which led to a diesel leak”.
Yemen’s armed forces have been targeting Israeli ships and those bound for Israeli ports since November in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza which has been subject to five months of ferocious airstrikes and a ground invasion.
The Yemeni operations have prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.
The Yemeni army says only Israeli, US and British ships are targeted, stating that other countries can rest assured of the safety of their cargoes.
Last November, UK-owned ship The Galaxy Leader sailing through the Red Sea was hit by rocket fire, according to Ambrey.
Yemen declared an open war against US and British interests after the two countries
On Thursday, the US military said it conducted strikes against what it claimed as mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, mobile unmanned aerial vehicles, and an explosive unmanned surface vessel in Yemen.
Yemen’s Saba news agency reported several strikes on the Red Sea coastal province of Hudaydah.
CENTCOM said an anti-ship ballistic missile was launched from Yemen into the Gulf of Aden.
In a speech on Thursday, Yemen’s Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said the United States had launched around 40 strikes this week, most of them on Hudaydah.
He said such attacks would fail to deter Yemeni forces from striking vessels if a ceasefire in Gaza is not reached.
“We will continue our operations as long as Israel continues its crimes,” he said.
Al-Houthi also warned the European Union against being drawn into the US and British military campaign in support of Israel after member states last month gave initial backing to a naval mission in the Red Sea.
“European countries should not listen to the Americans or the British, and should not involve themselves in matters that do not concern them or affect them,” he said.
