(NewsInsights.org) – A spokesperson for Houthis based in Yemen released a statement on Monday, May 27, claiming the group had successfully launched drone attacks on two US destroyers and missiles against three commercial cargo ships. The Iran-backed sect has vowed to continue attacks and acts of piracy until Israel halts its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, claimed responsibility for attacks in the Indian Ocean against the Larego Desert, which he called an American vessel, the MSC Mechela, which he called an Israeli ship, and an attack in the Red Sea against the Minerva Lisa. Saree didn’t name the two US destroyers or say when the attacks on any of the vessels occurred.
On Wednesday, May 29, Saree announced the group had attacked six more ships in three different bodies of water. Independent sources confirmed that five missiles struck the Laax, a bulk carrier flying the Marshall Islands flag transporting grain, on Tuesday, May 28, in the Red Sea. LSS-SAPU, the security company hired by the ship’s Greek-based owners, told reporters the vessel remained underway to its destination, with the crew safe and ship operable despite the attack.
Saree also claimed strikes on the Morea and the Sealady, both under the Maltese registry, in the Red Sea. The group claimed to have fired on the Greek-flagged Minerva Antonia in the Mediterranean. In the Arabian Sea, the spokesperson claimed the group had fired on the Portugese-flagged Alba and the US-flagged Maersk Hartford. However, Maersk Chief Operating Officer Ed Hanley claimed, “Nothing happened.” He said nobody had fired on the Hartford, and the vessel was “fine.”
Houthis have promised to attack vessels approaching Israeli ports or those carrying US or UK flags. US and UK forces banded together to provide security for commercial shipping interests in the region after the Houthi attacks began.
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