Houthi rebels strike U.S.-operated ship

Houthi rebels fired a missile that struck a U.S.-owned ship Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after they launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Mideast waters, said Monday’s attack happened some 177 km southeast of Aden. It said the ship’s captain reported that the “port side of vessel hit from above by a missile.”

Private security firms Ambrey and Dryad Global told The Associated Press that the vessel was the Eagle Gibraltar, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier. The U.S. military’s Central Command later acknowledged the strike.

“The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey,” Central Command said.

Earlier, Sky News reported the hit of a US commercial ship, citing the British company Ambrey, which specializes in maritime security issues.

The deputy head of Ansar Allah’s media relations office Nasreddin Amer said that the Yemeni rebel group regards U.S. military facilities in the region as its legitimate targets.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have said they will be making strikes on Israeli territory and will not allow ships related to them to sail through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave is stopped.