An explosion went off near a vessel south of Yemen on Wednesday, a British maritime security agency said, in the latest suspected attack on Red Sea shipping by the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received reports of “an explosion approximately 100 metres from the vessel” 50 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
UKMTO added that the vessel and crew were safe and that there were no reports of any injuries or damage.
The Huthis began strikes in the Red Sea in mid-November, saying they were targeting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Hamas-Israel war.
The United States and Britain have carried out two rounds of joint strikes aimed at reducing the Huthis’ ability to target shipping.
The US military has also launched a series of unilateral air raids on the Iran-backed rebels’ missiles.
It said its latest strikes early on Wednesday morning destroyed two Huthi anti-ship missiles that posed an “imminent threat” to ships in the area.
The Huthis have reacted to the US and UK strikes with defiance, targeting further ships and declaring American and British interests to be legitimate targets.
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