Yemeni Coast Guard: Houthi Attack on Ship Kills Six in Bab al-Mandab
The Yemeni Coast Guard announced that, in cooperation with rescue teams of the National Resistance Forces, it had evacuated the dead and wounded and rescued a number of crew members from a commercial ship that came under Houthi attack, leaving six martyrs among the ship’s crew and Coast Guard personnel affiliated with the National Resistance.
A statement from the force, a copy of which was obtained by Nashwan News, said the attack was repeated using missiles and targeted the commercial vessel Tahama (IMO number: 1031329) on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. while it was transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
According to the statement, as soon as the civilian ship was hit, Coast Guard teams, together with National Resistance rescue units, moved to the incident site to assist in rescuing the crew and evacuating casualties.
The attack caused a fire on board and severe damage to the ship, along with a number of martyrs and wounded among its crew, including three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national.
While Coast Guard and National Resistance teams were conducting rescue and evacuation operations, the Houthi militia struck the vessel again with another missile, an assault that hit the rescue site and caused martyrs and wounded among the forces taking part in the response.
About three hours after the attack, a bomb-laden unmanned boat belonging to the Houthi militia was spotted trying to approach the ship’s location from the sea; it was intercepted and destroyed by National Resistance and Coast Guard forces before reaching its target.
According to the preliminary toll available at the time this statement was issued, the number of martyrs reached six: four crew members—three Pakistanis and one Indonesian—plus two members of the Second Marine Brigade of the National Resistance Forces.
Ten others were wounded, including seven crew members, two Coast Guard personnel, and one member of the Second Marine Brigade.
The Coast Guard Authority condemned the assault, stressing that it represents a serious escalation and a direct threat to the safety and security of maritime navigation and the lives of seafarers and rescue teams in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and once again exposes the dangers posed by Houthi militia attacks on commercial ships and international sea lanes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
The Yemeni Coast Guard Authority also affirmed that it will continue to carry out its duty to protect maritime navigation, respond to distress calls, save the lives of seafarers, and deal with threats targeting the safety and security of sea lanes, in coordination with the relevant authorities and forces concerned with maritime security in the region.
