Houthi attack kills six in first Red Sea shipping deaths since Iran war

An attack by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on the cargo ship Tihamah in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has killed at least six people, marking the first shipping fatalities linked to the Houthis since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. Yemen's internationally recognised government said the Egyptian-owned, Tanzania-flagged vessel was hit by three ballistic missiles, killing three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian crew member. A follow-up strike during rescue operations killed two Yemeni government-allied troops, with ten people wounded in total. Source: Al Jazeera Source: CNBC

The attack

Yemen's Transport Ministry blamed "the Houthi terrorist militias" for the deaths and damage. Source: CNBC The Houthis have not officially commented on the casualties, though a Houthi-aligned outlet said they targeted a ship carrying Saudi military equipment. Source: Al Jazeera The attack came after the collapse of a UN-backed 2022 truce, following a Saudi air strike on Sanaa airport on July 13 and the Houthis' subsequent declaration of a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. Source: Al Jazeera Source: BBC

Wider escalation

Separately, US Central Command said a Navy helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at the Panama-flagged Vela Nova after it attempted to breach the US blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman. Source: CNBC The Houthis have also intensified attacks on Yemeni government-held areas, including al-Makha (Mocha) and Marib, and struck Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery. Source: Al Jazeera Source: The Guardian UN envoy Hans Grundberg warned that Yemen faces "a greater risk of renewed large-scale conflict than at any point since the UN-brokered truce of April 2022." Source: Al Jazeera