[Jimbuna]

Three killed in Houthi missile attack on cargo ship in Gulf of Aden

Three crew members have been killed in a Houthi missile strike on a cargo ship off southern Yemen, its owners and the US say - the first deaths caused by the group's attacks on merchant vessels.

The Barbados-flagged True Confidence was abandoned after Wednesday's attack, which inflicted significant damage.

Two of the sailors who died were Filipinos and the other was Vietnamese.

The Houthis say their attacks are in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

A military spokesman for the Iran-backed group claimed it targeted True Confidence because it was "American" - something the owners denied.

The US military's Central Command (Centcom) condemned the Houthis' "reckless attacks", which it said had "disrupted global trade and taken the lives of international seafarers".

Hours after the attack, US forces conducted strikes on two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Yemen, which Centcom said presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships in the region. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that two strikes targeted the airport in the Red Sea city of Hudaydah.

The attack on True Confidence occurred around 12:30 (09:30 GMT) on Wednesday, when the bulk carrier was in the Gulf of Aden, about 50 nautical miles (93km) south-west of the city of Aden, according to its owners.

The vessel was manned by a crew of 20, comprising one Indian, four Vietnamese and 15 Filipino nationals. Three armed guards - two from Sri Lanka and one from Nepal - were also on board.

A Centcom statement said the 183m-long bulk carrier was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

It published an aerial photograph showing significant damage to the bridge and accommodation at the stern of the stricken vessel, on the port side.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said that before the attack True Confidence had been contacted over VHF radio by a group calling itself the "Yemeni navy" and told to change course.

Nearby vessels then reported a loud bang and a large plume of smoke.

The Indian Navy's spokesperson said INS Kolkata, a destroyer deployed in the region as part of a US-led naval taskforce, arrived at the scene on Wednesday afternoon and rescued 21 crew members using a helicopter and boats.

Indian sailors provided critical medical aid to the injured and evacuated them to Djibouti on Wednesday evening, the spokesperson added.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68490695