Yamen, 18 January, 2024 (GNP): Houthis asserted responsibility for targeting a US ship with a drone near Yemen, a claim confirmed by the United Kingdom’s security agency. This incident follows the recent reclassification of the group as a “terrorist” entity by the United States.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) security agency stated that a drone struck a US ship in the Gulf of Aden. Huthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree affirmed their naval forces’ responsibility for targeting the US ship, specifically identified as the Genco Picardy, in the Gulf of Aden. The attack aligns with prior Huthi declarations of further ship assaults.
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Nevertheless, Ambrey, a British maritime risk management company, reported that the targeted vessel was a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported, “A vessel has been hit on the port side by an unmanned Aerial System,” adding that a fire on board has been extinguished, and both the vessel and its crew are safe.
Earlier on Wednesday, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam conveyed to a television network that the Houthi intended to persist in attacking Red Sea shipping, citing the US decision to reclassify the group as a “terrorist” entity.
“We will not give up targeting Israeli ships or ships heading towards ports in occupied Palestine… in support of the Palestinian people,” he emphasized in his statement to the news channel.
Despite facing repeated airstrikes in response to their attacks on merchant vessels, he also asserted that the Houthi forces would retaliate to any new strikes on Yemen by the United States or Britain.
