US report: Sailor seriously injured in Houthi missile attack

A sailor was seriously injured when a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden was hit by two cruise missiles fired by the Houthis in Yemen, the US military said.

The injured sailor was flown by helicopter to another ship for medical treatment, the US Central Command (CentCom) reported.

It added that crew members were battling a fire on board the MV Verbena, a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned and Polish-operated vessel.

The sailor’s nationality was not disclosed.

The Houthis said they had attacked three ships in the past 24 hours, including the MV Verbena, “in retaliation for the crimes committed against our people in the Gaza Strip and in response to the American-British aggression against our country.”

The armed Houthi group sees itself as part of an Iranian-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the United States and the wider West.

Since November, the rebel group has carried out attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on ships it says are linked to Israel, saying its actions are in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the US and UK carried out a series of attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen, after which the Houthi retaliated against ships they believed to be linked to those countries.

“The Houthis claim to act on behalf of the Palestinians in Gaza, yet they attack and threaten the deaths of third-country nationals who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza,” CentCom said.

The rebel attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea prompted many shipping companies to stop using the waterway, which carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.

On Wednesday, the Houthis attacked a Liberian-flagged ship called Tutor in the Red Sea with a sea drone. No casualties were reported.