Suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthis targeted ship in Gulf of Aden

A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels saw an explosive detonate near a ship early Sunday in the Gulf of Aden, potentially marking their latest assault on shipping through the crucial waterway leading to the Red Sea.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center says the vessel’s crew saw the blast as it passed off the coast of Aden, the port city in southern Yemen home to the country’s exiled government.

“No damage to the vessel has been reported and the crew are reported safe,” UKMTO says

The Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks in the same area, disrupting energy and cargo shipments through the Gulf of Aden.

The group did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, though it typically takes the Houthis several hours before acknowledging their assaults.

Separately, the US military’s Central Command said earlier it carried out a series of strikes targeting the Houthis. It said it destroyed five drone boats and one drone before takeoff from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen on Saturday. It was an unusually high number of drone boats to be destroyed.

Separately, the US military shot down one Houthi drone over the Red Sea, while another was “presumed to have crashed.”

“There were no reports of damage or injuries from ships in the vicinity,” Central Command said.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.