Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship missile at a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship named M/V Gibraltar Eagle, the U.S. military and the ship's operator said Monday , as the rebel group continued its attack on global shipping in the Red Sea. No injuries or significant damage were reported on the civilian ship, but the missile caused a minor fire in the ship's hold, the ship's operator said.
“Earlier in the day, at approximately 2 p.m. (Yemen time), U.S. forces detected an anti-ship missile fired toward merchant shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea,” the U.S. military's Central Command said in a statement posted on social media published statement. which also confirmed the attack on the cargo ship. The earlier missile “failed in flight and hit the Yemeni countryside. No injuries or damage were reported.”
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The latest attacks on merchant shipping came a day after CENTCOM announced it had shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired by the Houthis at the American warship USS Laboon while it was operating in the Red Sea. It was the Houthis' first acknowledged attack on a U.S. warship since the U.S. and British militaries began attacking the Houthis following weeks of attacks by the Iran-backed group on cargo ships in the crucial shipping corridor.
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The Houthis have been targeting merchant ships in the Red Sea with rockets and explosive-laden drones for weeks, claiming it is a legitimate response to Israel's ongoing war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The missile fired at the USS Laboon “was shot down near the coast of Hudaydah (a port on the west coast of Yemen) by US warplanes. No injuries or damage were reported,” CENTCOM said in a statement late Sunday.
President Biden announced attacks by the US and its allies on the Houthis in a statement on Thursday evening, and on Friday alone 28 Houthi sites were attacked with bombs and missiles from the air and sea. The attacks continued over the weekend, with U.S. forces hitting a Houthi radar site on Saturday, the AP reported.
Houthis vow to continue attacks in the Red Sea following US-led attacks
Attacks by the United States and its allies had not stopped the Houthis from attacking cargo ships in the vital shipping corridor, and Mohammed Abdulsalam, a chief political negotiator for the rebel movement, told Portal the attacks “target Israeli ships or ships en route.” to prevent the ports”. of occupied Palestine will continue.”
Britain's Maritime Trade Operations agency first reported the attack on the M/V Gibraltar Eagle on Monday, saying a “ship was hit from above by a missile” in Yemeni waters. The agency urged all ships transiting the area to exercise “extreme caution,” CBS News affiliate network BBC News reported.
“As a result of the impact, the ship suffered limited damage to a cargo hold but is stable and on its way out of the area,” Eagle Bulk, the ship's U.S. operator, said in a statement quoted by Portal. “It has been confirmed that all sailors on board the ship are uninjured. The ship is carrying a load of steel products.”
The United Kingdom took part in the attacks against the Houthis, which British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described as a “last resort” after “exhaustive diplomatic activity” and warnings from Washington and London to the militants to stop attacking ships.
“We will of course not hesitate to protect our security when necessary,” Sunak said.
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