London
\nA civilian ship has come under fire off the coast of Yemen, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has confirmed. No casualties or significant damage have been reported.
\nSince the start of Israel\u2019s military operation against Hamas in Gaza, Houthi militants controlling large swaths of Yemen have been targeting merchant ships traversing the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Shiite group had initially focused on vessels they believed to be linked to Israel, claiming they were acting in protest over the country\u2019s actions in Palestinian territory. However, after the US and the UK conducted a number of strikes on Houthi facilities, the group said it would now also attack ships affiliated with either nation.
\nOn Monday, the UKMTO, which is a monitoring service operated by the British Navy, released a statement, saying it had \u201creceived a report of an incident, 40NM South of AL Mukha, Yemen.\u201d
\n\u201cMaster reports his vessel was attacked by two missiles and reports minor damage,\u201d the UKMTO said, adding that the unnamed ship and its crew were safe, and en route to the next port of call. It advised all vessels to \u201ctransit with caution\u201d in the area.
\nLast Tuesday, the US Central Command reported that Houthi militants had fired several missiles at the Greek-owned bulk carrier Star Nasia, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, as well as the UK-owned, Barbados-flagged carrier Morning Tide off the Yemeni coast. According to the statement, both vessels remained seaworthy and had continued their planned journeys, with no casualties reported aboard either one.
\nThe Shiite group\u2019s spokesperson, Yahya Saree, described Star Nasia as a US vessel, warning that Houthis were planning to conduct more attacks on British and American ships in response to the \u201caggression\u201d perpetrated by London and Washington.
\nEarlier this month, the US Central Command stated that the American and British air forces and navies had carried out a series of strikes against at least 36 alleged Houthi targets in 13 locations across Yemen. The US military claimed that \u201cmultiple underground storage facilities, command and control, missile systems, UAV storage and operations sites, radars, and helicopters\u201d had been hit as a result.
\nIn response, the Houthis vowed to \u201cmeet escalation with escalation,\u201d and continue attacking civilian vessels until Israel halts its military action in Gaza.
\nWashington and London conducted similar strikes over the course of January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London A civilian ship has come under fire off the coast of Yemen, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has confirmed. No casualties or significant damage have been reported. Since the start of Israel\u2019s military operation against Hamas in Gaza, Houthi militants controlling large swaths of Yemen have been targeting merchant ships traversing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-386789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n