Houthi rebels launch second attack on Liberian ship in Gulf of Aden, escalating tensions

Yemen's Houthi movement announced on Saturday that it had launched a second attack on a Liberian-flagged container ship, expanding its actions against merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden.

Yemen's Houthi movement announced on Saturday that it had launched a second attack on a Liberian-flagged container ship, expanding its actions against merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden.

In a televised statement, Yemeni military spokesman Yahya Saree did not specify the date of the latest attack on the MV Groton.

According to a report by the British trade organization Maritime Trade Operations, two rockets exploded near the ship on Friday, about 130 nautical miles east of Aden in Yemen. The report said the crew was unharmed, but did not mention any damage to the ship.

“The operation was carried out by our naval, drone and missile forces… This is the second attack on the ship since it was first targeted on August 3,” Saree said.

Over the past nine months, the Houthis have sunk two ships in a series of drone and missile attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The group claims that its attacks are a sign of support for the Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and has indicated that these attacks could continue if there is no ceasefire.

In one of their most recent attacks, the Houthis targeted the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which was carrying around 1 million barrels of oil.

Read also: Helicopter with 22 missing people on the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula