News / Yemen

British cargo ship ‘on verge of sinking’ after Yemeni missile attack in Gulf of Aden

Monday, 19 February 2024 10:27 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 19 February 2024 10:27 AM ]

In this file picture, the Rubymar bulk carrier is seen anchored in an undisclosed location. (Via social media)

The Yemeni military has claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a British cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip against the US- and UK-backed Israeli war on the besieged territory.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesman for the military, said in a televised speech broadcast live from the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Monday that the Yemeni forces had targeted the Rubymar bulk carrier with a number of “appropriate” naval missiles.

He added that the vessel suffered extensive damage as a result and is now at risk of sinking in the Gulf of Aden. He noted, however, that the crew are safe.

Saree also said that Yemeni air defense units also managed to intercept and shoot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone as it was flying in the skies over the country’s western coastal province of Hudaydah.

He asserted that the Yemeni Armed Forces will not hesitate to carry out qualitative operations against all hostile targets in defense of their homeland and in reaffirmation of their unwavering support for the Palestinian nation.

Yemeni retaliatory strikes in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea will not stop until the Israeli aggression on Palestinians in Gaza comes to a halt and the all-out siege against its population is completely lifted, Saree said.

Yemeni forces will hit any US, UK target within firing range: Envoy

The Yemeni ambassador to Iran says his country’s armed forces will strike any American and British targets “within firing range” in response to the pair’s recent acts of aggression on Yemen’s soil.

Yemen has declared its open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise operation into the occupied territories.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they won’t stop retaliatory strikes.

The maritime attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.

Tankers are instead adding thousands of miles to international shipping routes by sailing around the continent of Africa rather than going through the Suez Canal.

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US Britain Yemen Middle East Hudaydah drone US military MQ-9 Reaper Yahya Saree cargo ship missile attack Yemeni Armed Forces Gulf of Aden Rubymar bulk carrier