The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a U.S.-owned tanker ship late on Thursday that hit the water close to the vessel however brought on no accidents or harm, the U.S. navy mentioned.
The incident, the newest amid rising tensions within the Red Sea which have disrupted world commerce and raised fears of provide bottlenecks, happened round 9 p.m. Yemen time (1800 GMT), based on a U.S. Central Command submit on X, previously known as Twitter.
This undated {photograph} launched by the U.S. navy’s Central Command exhibits what it’s described as Iranian-made missile
The Houthis, who management most of Yemen, earlier on Thursday claimed accountability for the assault, saying they focused the ship Chem Ranger with naval missiles that brought on “direct hits”.
Monitoring service TankerTrackers.com mentioned on social media that the “pretty small chemical tanker left the Red Sea port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for Kuwait, however her AIS (automated identification system) went offline on (Tuesday) earlier than continuing south previous Yemen.”
Attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi militia on ships in and across the Red Sea for a number of weeks have slowed commerce between Asia and Europe and alarmed main powers in an escalation of the battle in Gaza.
The Houthis say their assaults are in solidarity with Palestinians beneath assault from Israel in Gaza.
Since final week, the United States has launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, and this week returned the militia to a listing of “terrorist” teams.
President Joe Biden mentioned on Thursday that air strikes would proceed whilst he acknowledged they will not be halting the Houthi assaults.
“Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they gonna proceed? Yes,” Biden informed reporters aboard Air Force One.
The confrontation dangers an enlargement of the battle past Hamas-governed Gaza, the place the native well being ministry says over 24,000 folks – or greater than 1% of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants – have been killed in Israel’s assault.
Israel launched its offensive following Oct. 7 assaults on by the Palestinian Islamist group, which Israeli officers say killed 1,200 folks.