Houthis kill three in first deadly attack since start of Iran war - reports
The attack was reportedly carried out by Iranian proxy on a small cargo ship, as tensions in region over the US-Iran conflict remain high.
Houthi militants have reportedly caused the deaths of three individuals in what is believed to be their initial fatal assault on a vessel since the commencement of hostilities between the US, Israel, and Iran. The BBC has authenticated images depicting the damage sustained by the ship.
According to the UK's Maritime Trade Operations Centre, the cargo ship was reportedly struck by a projectile south of Yemen's Mocha port, resulting in casualties.
Yemen's Houthi faction, which is allied with and fully supported by Iran, initiated attacks on shipping last month, declaring a naval blockade of Saudi ports.
The regional conflict, ongoing since late February, has been marked by an unstable ceasefire intended to pave the way for a peace agreement. This has escalated regional tensions, with the Houthis also targeting Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and oil infrastructure. Concurrently, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas previously transited.
This attack follows the collapse last month of a years-long truce in Yemen's civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government.
Social media images reviewed by BBC Verify appear to show a damaged cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, located at the entrance to the Red Sea off the Yemeni coast.
Yemeni media reports indicate that two of the fatalities were crew members, identified as one Pakistani and one Indonesian. A Yemeni government vessel that subsequently responded to assist reportedly came under fire, leading to an additional casualty whose nationality remains unknown.
Close-up photographs identify the vessel as the Tihamah, which, according to the ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic, is currently in the Red Sea off Warner Point and is sailing under the Tanzanian flag. These images, shared by Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency, have been verified as recent and show no indications of AI generation.
Separately, Houthi attacks are also reported to have killed at least 30 Yemeni government forces.