Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed more attacks on American shipping interests in the Red Sea region, saying US and UK airstrikes against the Iran-allied group in recent days have made such vessels legitimate targets for destruction.
“The United States is on the verge of losing its maritime security,” Houthi spokesman Nasruldeen Amer told Al Jazeera on Monday. The militant group previously claimed that it would target only Israeli ships and vessels bound for Israel – in solidarity with Hamas amid the war in the Gaza Strip – but the spokesman said that in light of the US-UK airstrikes in Yemen, “it is enough for it to be American.”
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Houthi militants had already proved that point earlier on Monday, striking a US-owned container ship with a missile in the Gulf of Aden. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement saying that the Gibraltar Eagle cargo ship was continuing its journey after the missile attack, which caused no casualties and no major damage.
CENTCOM also claimed that a US fighter jet shot down a missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen toward the USS Laboon warship, operating in the southern Red Sea, on Sunday.
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