Strike on ship in Red Sea off Yemen coast kills 2

A cargo ship near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off Yemen's southern coast was struck by a projectile, resulting in at least two deaths and four injuries, British maritime security firm Vanguard reported on Tuesday. The vessel, carrying crew members from Pakistan and Indonesia, sustained significant damage, prompting the Yemeni Navy to deploy and come under fire, leading to one additional fatality.

The Yemeni coast guard source in Mokha said the attack was carried out by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, while another source confirmed the incident and mentioned a second projectile strike during the rescue operation. However, the number of casualties from the rescue operation remains undisclosed. The breakdown of a UN-backed truce in Yemen's civil war, which began in 2014, led to a resurgence of fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government, intensifying tensions with the United States and Iran.

The Houthi rebels subsequently imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, targeting Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and the kingdom's oil infrastructure, alongside Iran's blockade of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.