DUBAI, June 23 (AP/Reuters): An aerial drone likely launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck and damaged a vessel in the Red Sea on Sunday, officials said, the latest attack by the group targeting the vital maritime corridor.
The attack comes as the U.S. has sent the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower back home after an eight-month deployment that saw it lead the American response to the Houthi assaults. Those attacks have seen shipping drastically drop through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on.
The drone attack happened around dawn off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. It said the vessel sustained damage but its mariners on board "were reported safe." It did not elaborate on the extent of the damage, but said an investigation was ongoing.
The private security firm Ambrey identified the ship involved as a Liberia-flagged container ship bound for Qingdao, China.
The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults.
The Houthis have launched more than 60 attacks targeting specific vessels and fired off other missiles and drones in their campaign that has killed a total of four sailors.
US military destroy three
Houthi vessels in Red Sea
US forces destroyed three Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface vessels in the Red Sea in the past 24 hours, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.
Separately, the Houthis launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Gulf of Aden but there were no injuries or significant damage reported by US, coalition, or merchant vessels, CENTCOM added.
The US military's Central Command also dismissed as "categorically false" recent claims about a successful attack by Houthi forces on the aircraft carrier Dwight D Eisenhower.
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