The US military announced the withdrawal of the crew of a second ship hit by an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in two days.
The US military announced the withdrawal of the crew of a second ship hit by an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in two days.
The Central Command of the US Army (Centcom), responsible for the Middle East, stated on Saturday night, on the social network of fair.
The crew was picked up by another merchant ship, Centcom said, noting that the Iranian military frigate “IRIN Jamaran” was eight nautical miles away. [15 quilómetros] of the MV Verbena and did not respond to the distress call.”
The Verbena was hit by two cruise missiles on Thursday in the Gulf of Aden, off Yemen, causing a fire and serious injuries to one crew member, who was transported by helicopter to a nearby military ship for medical treatment.
On Friday, the British military’s UKMTO maritime security agency said the crew of the MV Tutor had also been evacuated by military personnel from the ship, which was damaged by a Houthi attack at sea on Wednesday. Red.
Shortly after, Centcom confirmed that “the crew abandoned ship and were rescued by the [navio de guerra norte-americano] USS Philippine Sea and associated forces,” with the exception of one sailor, who remains missing after the rebel attack.
The U.S. military also said the Tutor, a Liberian-flagged cargo ship operated by a Greek company, “remains in the Red Sea and is slowly sinking.”
A Houthi spokesperson said on the Telegram messaging platform that the Verbena was “sinking in the Gulf of Aden after being hit by several missiles” and that the Tutor “is at risk of sinking in the coming hours.”
“These operations are dedicated (…) to our brothers fighting in Gaza,” he said, adding that the rebels “renew their warning to all companies about the consequences of dealing with Israel and the arrival of their ships in Palestinian ports.” .
Since November, the Houthis have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks against ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, disrupting global maritime trade in this strategic area.
Allies of Iran, the Yemeni rebels claim to act in solidarity with the Palestinians in the context of the offensive launched in October by Israel against the Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Faced with the attacks, the pro-Israel United States created a multinational force to protect shipping in the Red Sea in December and launched attacks against rebels in Yemen in January, with help from the United Kingdom.
But the attacks did not deter the Houthis, who began attacking ships linked to Israel, as well as American and British ships.
Source: Observadora
