Yemen’s Houthis claim to attack US army cargo ship in Gulf of Aden

By Aziz al-Ahmadi

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Yemen’s Houthi group claimed Monday to have attacked a US army cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

In a statement, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said that OCEAN JAZZ ship was targeted with “appropriate naval missiles.”

He said the attack was “in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and as part of the response to the American-British aggression against our country.”

“The response to the American and British attacks is inevitably coming, and any new attack will not go unanswered,” the spokesman said.

There was no US comment yet on the Houthi claim.

Tensions have escalated in the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of having links with Israel.

The Houthis say their attacks aim to pressure Israel to halt its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 25,295 people since an Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas.

The US and UK launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in recent days in retaliation for the attacks, which have created fears of a new bout of inflation and supply chain disruption.

The Red Sea is one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments. It is used to transit between Egypt's Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aden, allowing ships to avoid the much costlier and longer route across the southern coast of Africa.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar