Yemen’s Houthi rebels carry out boat bomb attack on Greek ship in the Red Sea

ON BOARD THE USS LABOON IN THE RED SEA (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a bombing attack by boat Authorities say this is the latest escalation despite a US-led campaign to protect the vital waterway.

The use of a boat loaded with explosives was reminiscent of the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, when al-Qaeda carried out a suicide attack on the warship while it was docked in Aden harbor, killing 17 people on board. Associated Press journalists saw the Cole in the Red Sea on Wednesday, where it is now taking part in the U.S. campaign, while visiting one of its sister ships, the USS Laboon.

Yemeni military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the attack, identifying the vessel attacked as the Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Tutor. He described the attack as the use of a “drone boat” as well as drones and ballistic missiles.

In a warning to shipowners, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the ship had been hit on the stern by a small white boat southwest of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah.

The captain “reports that the vessel is taking on water and is not under the command of the crew,” the UKMTO said. He “also reports that the vessel has been struck a second time by an unknown aerial projectile.”

The Houthis, who captured Yemen’s capital nearly a decade ago and have recently been fighting a Saudi-led coalition, are The aim is to operate shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor above the War between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

They say the attacks are aimed at ending the war and supporting the Palestinians, although the attacks are often Target ships that have nothing to do with the conflict.

The war in Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 36,000 Palestinians there, while hundreds more have been killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank. began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.

The The Houthis have carried out more than 50 attacks on ships, killing three sailors since November, hijacking a ship and sinking another, according to the US Maritime Administration. A US-led airstrike campaign has been targeting the Houthis since January. a series of strikes on 30 May According to the rebels, at least 16 people were killed and 42 others injured.

AP journalists on a U.S. Navy ship were interviewing Commander Eric Blomberg, commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Laboon, when alerts about the attack came in. Blomberg took several calls from sailors aboard the ship reporting on the suspected attack.

The Laboon is one of the destroyers accompanying the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Both have fired under fire from the Houthis and escorted ships through the region. Although Blomberg and others stressed they were still investigating the attack, he said it appeared the ship attacked had nothing to do with the war between Israel and Hamas.

The Houthis “have attacked ships that have no connection whatsoever with the United States or Israel,” Blomberg said.

“These are just innocent merchant seamen transporting goods through the Red Sea, trying to transport them in the most cost-effective way – and they pay for it,” he said.