Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Sunday they had targeted the MV Groton vessel in the Gulf of Aden and also confirmed that the air defense forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces shot down a U.S. aircraft type “MQ-9”.
Houthi spokesperson of the Yemeni armed forces Yahya Saree confirmed the attack on X (former twitter) mentioning that the ship was attacked by ballistic missiles.
According to Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree, the militant group launched multiple ballistic missiles at the ship Groton, “and the hit was accurate.”
Saree claimed that the “ship was targeted owing to violation of ban decision of access to the ports of occupied Palestine by the company that owns the ship.”
As of Saturday, the vessel had no water ingress, no oil leaks and no onboard fire, the company security officer reported, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The vessel is proceeding to next port of call, UKMTO said in an update on Saturday.
The Houthis have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November until “the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” as they say.
The attacks have drawn US and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.
Earlier on Saturday the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces said it destroyed an Iranian-backed Houthi missile and launcher in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.
