Yemen’s Houthis kill 16 government troops; British agency reports attack on cargo ship in Red Sea

A cargo ship came under attack Sunday off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, the British military said, the latest maritime attack off the conflict-torn Arab country. 

Also this weekend, Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 16 troops in an attack on government-aligned forces, in some of the most violent fighting seen between the sides in years. 

Both incidents were reported near the port city of Hodeidah, which is under control of the Iranian-backed rebel group. 

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship reported being “under attack by unknown armed assailants” 30 nautical miles southwest of Hodeida. 

A skiff approached the bulk carrier and opened fire, forcing security guards to return fire, before sailing back to a larger ship about 2 nautical miles away with its automatic identification system switched off, the UKMTO said. The cargo ship and crew were reported safe, the British military said, adding that authorities were investigating.

No group immediately claimed the attack. The Houthis have threatened to begin attacking ships again. A Houthi spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The rebels previously fired drones and missiles at ships that pass territory they control near the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. Their attacks during the Gaza war forced shipping companies to reroute vessels around the southern tip of Africa instead of through the Suez Canal at the northern end of the Red Sea.

The attack on government forces was reported south of Hodeidah, two medical officials told AFP on Sunday. Hospitals in the area received 16 dead and 22 wounded pro-government forces, the sources said. An officer with the government-aligned forces called it the “deadliest Houthi attack in years.” 

The Houthis have been at war with the government since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The officer said the Iran-backed Houthis briefly took control of pro-government positions in the clashes, which began late on Friday, before a counterattack to retake them concluded at dawn on Saturday. He said the rebels had attacked with snipers, hich accounted for most of the casualties, before launching drone and mortar salvos. 

Another military official said the fighting resulted in “dead and wounded among (Houthi) ranks,” but did not provide any numbers or other details. 

The rebels control Yemen’s capital Sanaa and much of the north, including Hodeidah on Yemen’s western Red Sea coast, while the internationally-recognized government holds much of the south.

The fighting between the two sides has largely been frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022. But on Friday the Houthis threatened airports and vital assets belonging to Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Yemen’s Aden-based government. The rebel group, part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States, accused the kingdom of trying to stop an Iranian plane from landing.