Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched missiles at commercial ships since November 19.
Sanaa:
Yemen's Houthis said Thursday that their naval forces targeted an unidentified British merchant ship in the Red Sea in the group's campaign to disrupt shipping to protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
Earlier on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization said an explosion had been reported at a distance on the starboard side of a ship west of Yemen's Hodeidah.
The ship and crew have been reported safe, UKMTO said. It was unclear whether this was the ship targeted by the Houthis.
The Houthi attacks on shipping “will continue until the aggression stops and the siege of the Gaza Strip is lifted,” the Houthi military spokesman said in a statement.
The US and Britain have launched attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen and put the militia back on a list of terrorist groups, as unrest caused by the war between Israel and Hamas spreads through the region.
Iran-aligned Houthi militants, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched exploding drones and missiles at commercial ships since November 19.
The Gaza conflict has spread to other parts of the Middle East. Lebanon's Iran-linked Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces along the border, and Iraqi armed groups have attacked US troops in Iraq.
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