Two suspected attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit ships in Red Sea

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two suspected attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels Ships targeted in the Red Sea on Monday as a new american aircraft carrier approached the region to ensure the security of this key international trade route which has been under attack since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas nine months ago.

The captain of the first vessel targeted reported being attacked by three small vessels off the coast of Al Hudaydah, Yemen, the British military’s Maritime Commercial Operations Centre said, adding that two of the vessels were crewed and one was uncrewed.

“The reported unmanned boat collided with the vessel twice and both manned boats fired on the vessel,” UKMTO reported. “The vessel took self-protective action, after 15 minutes the boat broke off the attack.”

The captain later reported two separate waves of missile attacks, about 45 minutes apart, that exploded near the ship.

Later on Monday, in a separate incident also off the coast of Al Hudaydah, a vessel reported being attacked by a suspected unmanned Houthi aerial vehicle, which “impacted the port side, causing damage and light smoke,” UKMTO reported.

Both vessels and crew are safe, UKMTO said in a warning to mariners. The names and flags of the vessels were not immediately known.

The Houthis did not immediately comment on the incidents. However, it could be hours or even days before they acknowledge carrying out an attack.

Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt approaches Middle East to replace USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, who spent months in the Red Sea countering the Houthis.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Sunday that its forces destroyed two Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles and an unmanned surface vessel in the Red Sea.

The rebels targeted more than 70 ships with missiles and drones during their campaign, killing four sailors. seized a ship And sunk two since November.

In June, the number of Houthi attacks on merchant ships reached levels not seen since December, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, a coalition overseen by the U.S. Navy. U.S.-led airstrikes have targeted the Houthis since January, a 1.5 percent increase from December 2015. series of strikes on May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, according to the rebels.

The Houthis say their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain, as part of the rebels’ support for the militant group Hamas in its war against Israel. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the war, including some bound for Iran, a country that backs the Houthis.

Last week, the Houthis said they launched missiles at a U.S.-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Aden, marking what officials acknowledged was the longest-range attack by the rebels on a U.S.-flagged vessel near the Arabian Sea. JMIC identified the ship as the Maersk Sentosa. Maersk, a Danish company that is the world’s largest shipping company, confirmed to The Associated Press that its ship was targeted.