愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Suspected drones used by Yemen's Houthi rebels attack 2 more ships in Mideast waters

In this file photo, provided by the Indian Navy, the U.S.-owned ship Genco Picardy that came under attack from a bomb-carrying drone launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 is shown. (Indian Navy via AP, FIle) In this file photo, provided by the Indian Navy, the U.S.-owned ship Genco Picardy that came under attack from a bomb-carrying drone launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 is shown. (Indian Navy via AP, FIle)
Share
TEL AVIV, Israel -

Two ships travelling in Middle East waters were attacked by suspected Yemen Houthi rebel drones early on Tuesday, authorities said, the latest assaults in the Iranian-backed fighters' campaign of targeting vessels over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The first attack happened in the southern part of the Red Sea, west of the Yemeni port of Hodeida, with the projectile causing "slight damage" to the vessel's windows on the bridge, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. A small vessel had been nearby the ship before the attack, it added.

The private security firm Ambrey identified the vessel as a Barbados-flagged, United Kingdom-owned cargo ship. No one was hurt onboard the vessel, which suffered "minor damage," the firm said.

A second ship came under attack later Tuesday off Yemen's southern port city of Aden, the UKMTO reported. Ambrey identified it as a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned vessel coming from the U.S. heading to India.

"The vessel reported an explosion 50 metres off its starboard side," Ambrey said. "No injuries or damage were reported."

Later, a military spokesman of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed in a statement that the rebel forces attacked two separate vessels, one American and one British, in the Red Sea. He provided no evidence to support the claim.

The Houthis made no claim about the attack off the coast of Aden.

One of the ships the Houthis claimed they attacked -- the Morning Tide -- matched details provided by Ambrey. Tracking data showed it to be in the Red Sea near the reported attack.

The Morning Tide's owner, British firm Furadino Shipping, told The Associated Press no one was hurt in the attack and the ship was continuing onward to Singapore.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israel's offensive in Gaza against Hamas. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.

In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and launch sites for its attacks.

The U.S. and Britain struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday. An air assault Friday in Iraq and Syria targeted other Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan.

The U.S. military's Central Command also acknowledged an attack Monday on the Houthis, in which they attacked what they described as two Houthi drone boats loaded with explosives.

American forces "determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," the military said. "These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels."

Separately, the White House on Tuesday walked back an earlier statement that it had alerted the Iraqi government prior to carrying out Friday's Iraq and Syria strikes. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters shortly after the strikes that Iraqi official were given advance warning about the U.S.-led operation. He said the assertion was based on information that was provided to him by U.S. officials.

"Turns out that information was incorrect," said Kirby. He added that he regretted the error.

Kirby's initial comments generated controversy in Iraq and vehement denials by officials in Baghdad. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has sought to walk a delicate line between the United States and Iran-backed armed groups in his country, many of which have associated political parties in the coalition that brought his government to power.

Sudani has condemned attacks on U.S. troops, but has also pushed back against U.S. retaliatory strikes. Some of those strikes have hit facilities connected to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite, Iran-backed militias that was officially made part of the Iraqi military after joining the fight against the Islamic State in 2014 - although in practice, the militias continue to operate largely outside of state control.

Sudani has also called for an end to a U.S. led coalition formed to fight IS. Some 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq as part of the mission. In late January, Iraqi and U.S. military officials launched a series of formal discussions on winding down the coalition's presence. The talks were then suspended after the Jan. 28 strike in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops but are expected to resume again in the coming weeks.

Iraq's representative to the UN Abbas Kadhim Obaid, speaking as the UN Security Council met Tuesday, condemned the U.S. strikes, as well as recent strikes launched by Turkiye and Iran on Iraqi turf, as a breach of the country's sovereignty.

Also on Tuesday, Turkiye's defence minister visited Baghdad to discuss regional security issues. The meeting between Iraqi officials and Turkiye's top diplomat comes amid ongoing military operations by Ankara against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a Kurdish separatist group that has launched periodic attacks in Turkiye, in the border areas between the two countries

------

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Days after a political sign was erected outside Lululemon founder Chip Wilson's Vancouver mansion, the waterfront property has been vandalized with graffiti.

Toronto Coun. Michael Thompson 'forced himself on' a woman who awoke to find him standing over her after she fell asleep drunk, the Crown alleged Monday, as the five-day sexual assault trial of the six-term politician began in Bracebridge, Ont.

A disgraced Winnipeg high school football coach convicted of sexual assault and luring will spend 20 years behind bars.

Two people are in hospital after they were chased and shot at in what appears to be an act of road rage before eventually flipping their car while trying to escape, police say.

Local Spotlight

Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.

Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.

Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.

A gargantuan gourd 鈥 affectionately named 鈥極rangina鈥 by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home 鈥 earned the massive honour of being named B.C.鈥檚 heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.

Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.