Houthi terrorists kill 3 in 1st fatal maritime strike since Israel-Hamas war began: ‘Reckless attacks with no regard’
Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists killed three crew members when it launched a missile strike on a commercial vessel, forcing others aboard to jump ship in the Gulf of Aden Wednesday, officials said.
The attack on the Liberian-owned, Barbados-flagged bulk carrier is the first fatal maritime assault carried out by the Yemen rebels since they began targeting ships in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza, escalating already fraught tensions in the Middle East.
The vessel, True Confidence, was set ablaze about 50 nautical miles from the coast of Yemen’s port of Aden.
In addition to the three killed, at least another four were wounded, including three who are in critical condition, and the entire crew was forced to jump into lifeboats, the US military said. It is not yet known how many crew were on board.
“We continue to watch these reckless attacks with no regard for the well-being of innocent civilians who are transiting through the Red Sea,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a briefing.
“And now they have, unfortunately and tragically, killed innocent civilians.”
American airstrikes against the terror-designated group began in January, but have done little to deter Houthi fighters.
The United Nations condemned the missile strike, stressing the attacks were causing risks “to property, to life, to ecology in the area.”
But in a prerecorded message claiming credit for the deadly firepower, Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the group’s targeting would only stop when the “siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza is lifted.”
A US warship and the Indian navy were involved in rescue efforts.
The rolling attacks have caused chaos in the global shipping industry, forcing vessels to divert to longer routes that cost more around southern Africa. Insurance payments tied to a seven-day voyage in the Red Sea have also jumped by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“We have consistently warned the international community and the maritime industry about the escalating risks faced by seafarers in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. Today … we see those warnings tragically confirmed,” said Stephen Cotton, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the leading seafarers union.
With Post wires