Yemen’s Houthis target US ship with missiles in Red Sea

By Anadolu staff

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Yemen’s Houthis said Tuesday they have attacked with missiles a US ship in the Red Sea and Israel’s port city of Eilat.

Houthi forces struck the MADO oil tanker with naval missiles, rebel spokesman Yahya Saree said in statements carried by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television.

The Yemeni group said it also fired winged missiles on the city of Eilat in southern Israel.

There was no immediate comment from the US or Israel on the report.

The UN Security Council on Monday condemned in the strongest terms attacks by Houthis against commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where more than 31,800 people have been killed in a deadly Israeli offensive since last October following a Hamas attack.

With the US and UK launching retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi sites inside Yemen, the Houthis declared that they consider all American and British ships military targets.

A coalition led by the US - under the name Operation Prosperity Guardian - has conducted intermittent airstrikes since Jan. 12 that have targeted Houthi sites in parts of Yemen in response to the attacks in the Red Sea.

The Red Sea is one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul