AL-MUKALLA: Four sailors were killed on Tuesday when missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthis struck a commercial vessel in the Red Sea, Yemen’s government said.
According to the official SABA news agency, Yemen’s Ministry of Transportation said the Houthis fired four missiles at the Tihamah, which was carrying goods through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
Three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian sailor were killed, while others were wounded and the vessel caught fire, leaving it badly damaged.
The ministry said that when Yemeni first responders arrived to rescue the crew, the Houthis fired another missile at the ship in what it described as an apparent attempt to disrupt the rescue operation.
It accused the Houthis of deliberately targeting commercial vessels bound for government-controlled ports and warned that such attacks could disrupt the flow of food, consumer goods and other supplies.
“Targeting sea lanes and commercial vessels not only threatens Yemenis, but also affects the security of international navigation, global trade interests and the movement of supplies in the region and the world,” the ministry said.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors incidents affecting commercial shipping, reported casualties aboard a cargo vessel struck by an unidentified projectile off Yemen’s Mocha.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Houthis had not claimed responsibility for the attack.
The strike was the latest in a series of Houthi drone and missile attacks targeting government-controlled areas across Yemen, as well as vessels sailing toward ports under government control.
Explosions rocked the western port city of Mocha on Tuesday morning as the Houthis attacked the area for a third consecutive day, residents and local media said.
Residents told Arab News that several Houthi missiles landed in different parts of the city, while gunfire echoed across Mocha as air defenses engaged incoming drones.
The media arm of the National Resistance Forces, Yemeni Army units deployed along the western coast, said residents had been urged over the previous 24 hours to remain indoors while air defenses confronted Houthi drones and missiles.
On Sunday, seven people were killed and 30 wounded when the Houthis launched their first wave of strikes on Mocha, hitting the city’s seaport, power station, military positions and other locations.
The Houthis attacked Mocha again on Monday, launching drones that triggered explosions and heavy fire from local air defenses.
Meanwhile, fighting broke out on Tuesday between Yemeni government troops and the Houthis outside the southern city of Taiz after Houthi fighters attempted to advance into government-held areas.
Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni Army officer in Taiz, told Arab News by telephone that several Houthis were killed or wounded and two were captured after government troops repelled the advance.
Yemen’s Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shaya Zindani, strongly condemned the latest Houthi escalation against cities and commercial shipping and vowed to protect state institutions and respond “decisively” to further attacks, according to SABA.
Analysts said the escalation coincided with Iran’s wider confrontation with the US, reinforcing concerns over the Houthis’ role in advancing Tehran’s regional agenda.
Fatehi bin Lazerq, editor of the Aden Al-Ghad newspaper, said the latest attacks reflected Iranian influence over Houthi decision-making and cast doubt on the prospects for a lasting peace agreement.
“The Houthis are nothing more than an Iranian tool, and their escalation was a response to the targeting of Iran, carried out on Iranian orders,” he said. “Peace with the Houthis is impossible.”
Despite ruling out a durable settlement with the group, Lazerq said the trajectory of the current escalation remained uncertain.
“The possibility of war is real, but the possibility of de-escalation is even more likely,” he said. “In any case, it is unclear what will happen.”
