Yemen’s Houthis target ship with missile

SANAA (AFP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Monday said they had fired a missile at a tanker in the Red Sea, days after their prime minister was killed in an Israeli attack.

The Iran-backed rebels, who sank two tankers in July, said they targeted the Liberian-flagged Scarlet Ray, claiming a direct hit.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Sunday that the attack missed its target. The ship is Israeli-owned, according to maritime security company Ambrey.

UKMTO, which monitors the region, said the ship’s crew “witnessed a splash in close proximity to their vessel from an unknown projectile and heard a loud bang.

“All crew are safe and the vessel continues on its voyage.”

The Houthis announced on Saturday that their Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, and other officials were killed in an Israeli air strike two days earlier.

On Sunday, they raided United Nations premises and detained at least 11 workers. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for their “immediate and unconditional release.”

The Houthis had already been holding 23 UN personnel, some since 2021 and 2023, the UN’s Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg said.

The Houthis claimed arrests made in June 2024 included “an American-Israeli spy network” operating under the cover of humanitarian organizations — allegations emphatically rejected by the UN.

UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said the detentions, carried out in Sanaa and Hodeida, came after “the forced entry into UN premises and seizure of UN property.”

Earlier Sunday, the World Food Program said one of its staff had been detained in the rebel-held capital Sanaa.

It said it was “urgently seeking additional information” from the Houthi authorities, who seized Sanaa in 2014 and now control large parts of Yemen.