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Houthi Rebels Suspected in Explosion Near Ship in Gulf of Aden
Between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden is a deep-water gulf south of Yemen.
An explosive detonated near a ship in the Gulf of Aden early Sunday in what is believed to be a suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, potentially marking their latest assault on shipping through the crucial waterway leading to the Red Sea. The vessel’s crew witnessed the blast as it passed off the coast of Aden, the port city in southern Yemen, home to the country’s exiled government, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. Fortunately, no damage to the vessel has been reported, and the crew is safe, as confirmed by UKMTO.
The Houthis, who have launched repeated drone and missile attacks in the same area, disrupting energy and cargo shipments through the Gulf of Aden, did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. Typically, it takes the Houthis several hours before acknowledging their assaults. In response to the suspected attack, the U.S. military's Central Command said it carried out a series of strikes targeting the Houthis, destroying five drone boats and one drone before takeoff from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen on Saturday, an unusually high number of drone boats to be destroyed.
Separately, the U.S. military shot down one Houthi drone over the Red Sea, while another was presumed to have crashed. Fortunately, there were no reports of damage or injuries from ships in the vicinity, Central Command stated. The Houthis have been attacking ships since November, aiming to force Israel to end its offensive in the Gaza Strip against Hamas. However, the ships targeted by the Houthis have largely had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S., or other nations involved in the war. These assaults have raised the profile of the Houthis, who are members of Islam’s minority Shiite Zaydi sect.
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Recent reports suggest that the Houthis now possess a hypersonic missile, potentially increasing their capabilities and putting more pressure on Israel after a cease-fire deal failed to take hold in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Hypersonic missiles would pose a more serious threat to American and allied warships in the region. In March, a Houthi missile struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, resulting in the deaths of three crew members and forcing survivors to abandon the vessel. It marked the first fatal attack by the Houthis on shipping. Other recent Houthi actions include an attack last month on a cargo ship carrying fertilizer that later sank after drifting for several days.
