Houthi missile attack kills 3 crew members in Yemen rebels' first fatal assault on shipping

A missile attack by Yemens Houthi rebels on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday killed three of its crew members and forced survivors to abandon the vessel the US military said It was the first fatal strike in a campaign of assaults by the Iranianbacked group over Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza StripThe attack on the Barbadosflagged Liberianowned bulk carrier True Confidence further escalates the conflict on a crucial maritime route linking Asia and the Middle East to Europe that has disrupted global shipping The Houthis have launched attacks since November and the US began an airstrike campaign in January that so far hasnt halted their attacksMeanwhile Iran announced Wednesday that it would confiscate a 50 million cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil for American energy firm Chevron Corp aboard a tanker it seized nearly a year earlier It is the latest twist in a years long shadow war playing out in the Middle Easts waterways even before the Houthi attacks beganThe US militarys Central Command said an antiship ballistic missile launched from a Houthicontrolled area in Yemen struck the True Confidence causing significant damage to the ship In addition to the three deaths at least four crew members were wounded with three in critical condition Two aerial photos released by the US military showed the the ships bridge and cargo on board ablazeThese reckless attacks by the Houthis have disrupted global trade and taken the lives of international seafarers simply doing their jobs which are some of the hardest jobs in the world and the ones relied on by the global public for sustainment of supply chains Central Command saidThe attack came after the ship had been hailed over radio by men claiming to be the Yemeni military officials said The Houthis have been hailing ships over the radio in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since beginning their attacks with analysts suspecting the rebels want to seize the vesselsAfter the missile hit the crew abandoned the ship and deployed lifeboats A US warship and the Indian navy were on the scene trying to assist in rescue effortsThe ships managers and owners said the ships crew of 20 included one Indian 15 Filipinos and four Vietnamese Three armed guards two from Sri Lanka and one from Nepal also were on board The ship had been carrying steel from China to Jeddah Saudi ArabiaThe United Nations called on the Houthis to cease all attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said expressing serious concern about the continuing attacks including the latest incident where the status of the crew is unknown Dujarric said the attacks are causing risks to property to life to ecology in the areaAt the State Department in Washington spokesman Matthew Miller condemned the attack We continue to watch these reckless attacks with no regard for the well being of innocent civilians who are transiting through the Red Sea And now they have unfortunately and tragically killed innocent civilians he told reportersWhite House press secretary Karine JeanPierre separately warned The US obviously is going to continue to take actionBrig Gen Yahya Saree a Houthi military spokesman claimed the attack in a prerecorded message saying its missile fire set the vessel ablaze He said the rebels attacks would only stop when the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza is liftedThe rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the IsraelHamas war but up to Wednesday hadnt killed any crew members The vessels have included at least one with cargo bound for Iran the Houthis main benefactor and an aid ship later bound for Houthicontrolled territoryDespite more than a month and a half of USled airstrikes Houthi rebels have remained capable of launching significant attacks They include the attack last month on a cargo ship carrying fertilizer the Rubymar which sank on Saturday after drifting for several days and the downing of an American drone worth tens of millions of dollarsIt was unclear why the Houthis targeted the True Confidence However it had previously been owned by Oaktree Capital Management a Los Angelesbased fund that finances vessels on installments Oaktree declined to commentMeanwhile a separate Houthi assault Tuesday apparently targeted the USS Carney an Arleigh Burkeclass destroyer that has been involved in the American campaign against the rebels The Carney shot down bombcarrying drones and one antiship ballistic missile Central Command said Saree acknowledged that attack as wellThe US later launched an airstrike destroying three antiship missiles and three bombcarrying drone boats Central Command saidThe Houthis havent offered any assessment of the damage theyve suffered in the Americanled strikes that began in January though theyve said at least 22 of their fighters have been killed One civilian has reportedly been killedThe US Treasury separately announced new sanctions targeting a Houthi financier and the expeditionary Quds Force of Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard which arms the rebels The Houthis have held Yemens capital Sanaa since 2014 Theyve battled a Saudiled coalition since 2015 in a longstalemated war thereMeanwhile the Indian navy released a video of its sailors from the INS Kolkata fighting a fire aboard the MSC Sky II which had been targeted by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden on Monday The Mediterranean Shipping Co a Switzerlandbased company said the missile struck the ship as it was traveling from Singapore to Djibouti No one was injuredIran separately announced the seizure of the crude oil aboard the Advantage Sweet through an announcement carried by the judiciarys staterun Mizan news agency At the time Iran alleged that the Advantage Sweet collided with another ship without offering any evidenceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and 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