Houthi rebels fire missiles at German and Swiss-owned ships: US military

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked two European-owned carrier ships in the Red Sea, German news agency dpa reported.

The US military was reported as saying that two vessels were hit in the space of 24 hours, causing damage.

One was a Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned and operated container ship M/V Tavvishi.

The other was an Antigua and Barbados-flagged, German-owned and operated cargo ship M/V Norderney, the US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement.

Two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Gulf of Aden, with one striking the M/V Tavvishi.

In a separate incident, Houthis launched "one ASBM and one anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) into the Gulf of Aden,” Centcom said, with both missiles striking the M/V Norderney.

Both vessels were damaged but continued underway and no injuries were reported.

Retaliation

Centcom added that its forces also destroyed one uncrewed aerial system (UAS) over the Gulf of Aden, two Houthi land attack cruise missiles (LACM) and one missile launcher in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis after assessing they presented an "imminent threat".

Houthis have repeatedly fired on merchant ships in the critical Red Sea shipping corridor that connects to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal since the start of the war in Gaza in October.

They had said the attacks were intended to support Palestinian group Hamas by making it more difficult for cargo ships to reach Israel.

In response to the attacks, the US and the UK have carried out several military strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen.

The European Union has also launched a military operation to protect merchant shipping in the Red Sea.

- Bernama