Yemen Government Says Four Killed in Houthi Strike on Ship in Red Sea

Aden: A strike by Iran-backed Houthi militias on a cargo vessel killed at least four people near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of southern Yemen, the country's internationally recognized government said Tuesday.

The Yemeni government's transport ministry accused the Houthis of firing three successive ballistic missiles at a cargo vessel, identified as the Tihamah, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of southern Yemen.The ministry said the crew lost control of the vessel after it was struck.

According to the ministry, those killed included three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national. The deaths are the first known fatalities from Houthi attacks on shipping off Yemen in the latest bout of fighting.

The vessel had departed the Yemeni government-held port of Al Mokha on the Red Sea coast. The strike came amid a wider escalation, with the Houthis also attacking the government-held port city of Mokha and other areas of the country using missiles and drones.

The incident has deepened fears over threats to strategic shipping routes through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key maritime corridor at Yemen's southern tip, and raised concerns over a potential return to civil war following a 2022 truce.

The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month. Vessel traffic through the strait has since declined, with an average of 32 ships per day passing through last week, down from around 50 before the blockade, according to shipping data.