US strikes Yemen’s Houthis after Red Sea attack on British oil tanker carrying Russian fuel
- US forces destroyed a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea that was ready to launch
- The Marlin Luanda, operated by trading giant Trafigura, is carrying Russian-origin naphtha – a product used to make plastics and petrol
US forces struck an anti-ship missile in Houthi-held Yemen that they said was ready to fire early Saturday, hours after the Iran-backed rebels caused a fire on a British tanker in the Gulf of Aden with a similar munition.
US and British forces have launched joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis’ ability to target vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route – attacks the rebels say are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with Hamas.
Washington has also carried out a series of unilateral air raids, but the Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks.
The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said it had carried out another strike early Saturday morning on a Houthi “anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea and which was prepared to launch”.
“Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defence,” it added in a statement on social media platform X.
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US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen
The previous evening, the British oil tanker the Marlin Luanda, operated on behalf of trading giant Trafigura Group, was hit by missiles fired by Yemeni naval forces, said the Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Saree.