“Targeted operation”
Houthi fighters attack US merchant ship with missiles
January 19, 2024, 12:29 a.m
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Another dangerous incident occurs in the Gulf of Aden. The oil tanker “Chem Ranger” is attacked by the Houthi militia from Yemen. According to the Houthis, several rockets are said to have hit the ship. But there are also other reports.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen say they have attacked a US merchant ship again. The Iran-backed militia said on Friday night that it had attacked the ship “Chem Ranger” with missiles in a “targeted operation” in the Gulf of Aden. Several rockets hit their target. According to the specialized website Marine Traffic, the “Chem Ranger” is an oil tanker that sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands. The tanker has been off the coast of Yemen for the past few days.
The British security company Ambrey reports on the attack on the “Chem Ranger” that the attack was carried out with four unmanned missiles. One of them fell into the water and no damage was reported. The freighter was able to continue its journey unaffected. The incident occurred about 87 miles southeast of the Yemeni city of Mukalla.
The Houthi rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, particularly since the start of the war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas on October 7th. The Shiite militia sees itself as part of the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” directed against Israel, which includes Hamas and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
The US and Britain bombed Houthi positions in Yemen a week ago in response to the attacks. The US has carried out four more attacks since then, the most recent on Thursday. However, the USA emphasizes through the Ministry of Defense that it is not at war with the Houthis. The latest attacks on the rebel group in Yemen are purely defensive in nature, says Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh. “What we do with our partners is self-defense,” she explains. The Houthis are the ones who continually fire rockets at innocent sailors.