Yemen live news: US-owned ship hit by Houthi missile near Red Sea

Aerial footage shows moment RAF Typhoon strikes Yemen military target

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have struck a US-owned cargo vessel with an anti-ship ballistic missile off the coast of Yemen.

The attack involved three missiles, one of which struck the Gibraltar Eagle and caused a fire. There were no reports of injuries, US Central Command said.

The ship’s operator Eagle Bulk said that “as a result of the impact, the vessel suffered limited damage to a cargo hold but is stable and is heading out of the area”.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the attack in a recorded television address, vowing to target all American and British ships.

Authorities have issued a warning to other boats in the Red Sea region.

It came after US fighter aircraft intercepted and destroyed an anti-ship cruise missile launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen towards the USS Laboon destroyer in the Red Sea.

The incident occurred off the coast of Hodeidah, a port city in the west of Yemen whose international airport was targeted in joint US-UK airstrikes last week.

1705391274

Who are Yemen’s Houthis? The Iran-backed rebels attacking ships in the Red Sea

The Islamist group claims it began striking a narrow strip of sea between Yemen and east Africa, which is a key international trade route, in a bid to end Israel’s air and ground offensive against Hamas.

In retaliation, Britain and the US launched air strikes across Yemen against Houthi forces. President Joe Biden called the strikes a “direct response” to an onslaught of attacks on Red Sea ships which “jeopardised trade, and threatened freedom of navigation”.

Mr Sunak said the action was “necessary and proportionate”.

Tom Watling16 January 2024 07:47

1705389649

A timeline of the Houthi attacks that led to US and UK airstrikes

US and British forces launched airstrikes against dozens of targets across Yemen on January 11 in retaliation for months of attacks by the country’s Houthi movement on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea.

Those attacks, launched by the Iran-backed group in response to Israel’s war in Gaza, have wrought havoc on international shipping and drawn the US and its allies into a regional conflict.

The Pentagon said 60 targets were hit using more than 150 precision-guided munitions.

Tom Watling16 January 2024 07:20

1705386300

Will the clash with the Houthi rebels lead to global conflict?

Would the US and the UK be prepared to put boots on the ground in Yemen (as Boris Johnson proposed)?

Will a prolonged air campaign be enough to paralyse the Iran-backed Houthis? T

here are many difficult questions left to answer over the Middle East’s latest hotspot, warns Kim Sengupta.

Will the clash with the Houthi rebels lead to global conflict?

Would the US and the UK be prepared to put boots on the ground in Yemen (as Boris Johnson proposed)? Will a prolonged air campaign be enough to paralyse the Iran-backed Houthis? There are many difficult questions left to answer over the Middle East’s latest hotspot, warns Kim Sengupta

Barney Davis16 January 2024 06:25

1705385801

Houthi rebels vow to expand attacks on US and UK vessels in Red Sea

The Yemeni Houthi movement will expand its targets to include US ships, an official from the Iran-allied group said on Monday.

“The ship doesn’t necessarily have to be heading to Israel for us to target it; it is enough for it to be American,” Nasruldeen Amer, a spokesperson for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera.

“The United States is on the verge of losing its maritime security.”

Mr Amer also said British and American ships had become “legitimate targets” due to the strikes launched by the two countries on Yemen last week.

Attacks on ships since October by the Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, have hit commerce and alarmed major powers in a regional escalation of Israel’s more than three-month war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

Shweta Sharma16 January 2024 06:16

1705382820

Hizb ut-Tahrir should be branded terrorist organisation – Home Sec

The international Islamist political group Hizb ut-Tahrir should be banned as a terrorist organisation, the Home Secretary said, as he branded it “antisemitic” and warned it “promotes and encourages terrorism”.

James Cleverly’s proposal will be debated in Parliament this week and, if approved, the ban would come into force on Friday making Hizb ut-Tahrir the 80th organisation to be proscribed in the UK.

Founded in 1953, Hizb ut-Tahrir is a pan-Islamic fundamentalist group which has been banned in several Arab and Asian countries, including China, as well as in Germany. Austria banned symbols of the group in 2021.

With headquarters in Lebanon, the group also operates in at least 32 countries including the UK, United States, Canada and Australia, with a “long-term goal of establishing a Caliphate ruled under Islamic law”, the Home Office said.

Mr Cleverly said: “Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organisation that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling October 7 attacks.

“Proscribing this terrorist group will ensure that anyone who belongs to and invites supports for them will face consequences. It will curb Hizb ut-Tahrir’s ability to operate as it currently does.”

The group had described Hamas as “heroes” – which “constitutes promoting and encouraging terrorism” – and has a “history of praising and celebrating attacks against Israel and attacks against Jews more widely”, the Home Office said.

Footage showed several men shouting ‘jihad’ at the march organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir

(screengrab)

Barney Davis16 January 2024 05:27

1705379220

Houthis say UK and US ships legitimate targets after strikes

Houthi rebels said they would expand their targets to include US and British ships as an anti-ship ballistic missile struck a US container ship about 100 miles off the Gulf of Aden, the US military confirmed.

The attack on the Gibraltar Eagle, later claimed by the Houthis, further escalates tensions gripping the Red Sea after American-led strikes on the rebels.

British and American ships had become “legitimate targets”, Nasruldeen Amer, a spokesman for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera on Monday evening.

“The ship doesn’t necessarily have to be heading to Israel for us to target it, it is enough for it to be American,” said Mr Amer.

“The United States is on the verge of losing its maritime security.”

The Houthis have previously said they would only target Israeli ships or those en route to Israel.

Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against the U.S. and the U.K. strikes on Houthi-run military sites near Sanaa

(AP)

Barney Davis16 January 2024 04:27

1705377944

UK’s maritime agency reports incident off Eritrea’s Assab

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation has advised vessels to transit with caution after a vessel reported being encircled in the Red Sea earlier today.

A small craft circled a vessel in the Red Sea about 57 nautical miles northwest of Eritrea’s Assab, forcing the ship to fire warning shots.

The vessel and crew were reported safe and are proceeding to their next port after security personnel on the ship “fired warning shots and small craft departed,” UKMTO said in an advisory note.

Shweta Sharma16 January 2024 04:05

1705375620

ICYMI: John Rentoul: Will war in the Middle East cast a shadow over a Starmer government?

The shadow cabinet is more deeply divided than it appears. Labour is still subject to less media scrutiny than the Conservatives, despite the widespread assumption that Keir Starmer will become prime minister this year.

Most Labour MPs are also more disciplined than most Tory MPs because they can feel election victory within their grasp, whereas the Tories are either fed up or have given up, and so are happier to be rude about each other in private and in public.

As ever in politics, Labour’s divisions are a mixture of the personal and the ideological, and foreign policy is one of the hidden fractures threatening the foundations of an incoming government.

Barney Davis16 January 2024 03:27

1705375534

US-led strike on houthis ‘one more terrible consequence’ of Gaza war, UN aid chief says

United Nations’ aid chief Martin Griffiths said that US-led strikes in Yemen are a “serious consequence” of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Mr Griffths said he is not blaming any side but it is disappointing to see the prospect of peace in Yemen “snatched away” from people, according to CNN.

“But it’s one more terrible consequence. And it is a really serious consequence of the war in Gaza,” he said.

Shweta Sharma16 January 2024 03:25

1705374076

Iran says Revolutionary Guards attack Israel’s ‘spy HQ’ in Iraq

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired a number of ballistic missiles at the “spy headquarters” of Israel in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, according to Iranian state media.

“In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance … one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq’s Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles,” the guards said in a statement.

The elite force vowed to avenge the “last drops of martyrs’ blood”, referring to the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month, including a senior Guards commander, who had served as military advisers there.

The forces also “fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations” in Iran, including the Islamic State.

The US State Department condemned the attacks near Erbil, calling them “reckless”.

But officials said no US facilities were targeted and there were no US casualties.

Shweta Sharma16 January 2024 03:01

Reference

Denial of responsibility! Elite News is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
DMCA compliant image

Leave a comment