Houthi attack on commercial vessel in Yemen results in heavy casualties

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The death toll from missile strikes launched by Yemens Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) against the commercial vessel Tihama in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has reached 6, while 10 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

Sea-news.az reports that initial investigations have fully clarified the composition of the casualties and the injured.

As a result of the missile strikes, 4 civilian crew members of the vessel (3 citizens of Pakistan and 1 of Indonesia), as well as 2 servicemen from the Second Marine Brigade involved in the rescue operation, lost their lives. Of the 10 injured, 7 are civilian crew members of the ship, 2 are Coast Guard employees, and 1 is a military serviceman.

According to Yemeni officials, the casualties among security and rescue forces occurred due to a second organized missile strike delivered by the Houthis while the evacuation of the ship’s crew was being carried out. Approximately 3 hours after the first attack, the Houthis directed an explosive-laden uncrewed surface vessel (kamikaze boat) toward the ship. However, the naval UAV was detected and destroyed in a timely manner by the Yemeni military. As a result of intensive rescue operations conducted in the incident zone, a total of 11 sailors were safely evacuated from the Tihama.