DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship traveling off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden came under attack early on Tuesday, officials said, though no one was hurt. It was not clear who launched the attack.
The captain of the vessel heard a splash and explosion in the vicinity of the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in a statement.
“Vessel and crew reported safe and proceeding to next port of call,” the center said in a statement.
The attack happened about 225 kilometers (140 miles) off the coast of Aden, which is held by forces loyal to Yemen’s exiled government.
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have launched a series of attacks targeting shipping through the Red Sea corridor, but did not immediately claim the attack. It typically takes them hours or even days to claim an assault.
The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red Sea in response to the war in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.
The Houthis stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels. The Houthis sank two vessels in July, killing at least four on board, with others believed to be held by the rebels.
The attack on Tuesday came as Israel has intensified its the war, targeting Gaza City with a new ground offensive. Meanwhile, tensions remain high as United Nations sanctions are due to be reimposed on Iran over Tehran’s battered nuclear program. Israel launched a 12-day war against the Islamic Republic in which the Americans bombed three Iranian atomic sites.
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