US Central Command on Wednesday posted to its X account a photo showing the damage caused to a commercial ship which was attacked by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden, resulting in the deaths of three people.
“At approximately 11:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) March 6, an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) was launched from Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen toward M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier, while transiting the Gulf of Aden. The missile struck the vessel, and the multinational crew reports three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship,” said CENTCOM in a statement posted to X and which was titled “Houthis kill innocent civilians with missile attack.”
It added that the crew abandoned the ship and coalition warships “responded and are assessing the situation.”
“These reckless attacks by the Houthis have disrupted global trade and taken the lives of international seafarers,” CENTCOM said.
Wednesday’s incident marked the first time that the Iran-backed group has killed anyone as part of their ongoing attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea.
The Houthis said in a statement that the strike was “accurate” and caused a fire to break out on the ship.
“The targeting operation came after the ship’s crew rejected warning messages from the Yemeni naval forces,” a Houthi statement about the attack read.
The statement said that the Houthis will not stop the attacks in the Red Sea until the Israeli “aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have upped their attacks on vessels since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition, made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis.
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have upped their attacks on vessels since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
In mid-January, with support from other countries, the US and Britain targeted just under 30 Houthi locations with 150 different weapons. The two countries have continued to strike Houthi targets since.
The Houthis have been unfazed by the strikes and have vowed to continue to target ships in the Red Sea.