Huthi rebels claim attack on Greek-owned ship

The Iran-backed Huthi rebels on Friday claimed an attack using ships, drones and missiles on a Greek-owned ship off Yemen's coast.

The attack "targeted the ship Yannis which belongs to a Greek company Eastern Mediterranean Maritime as it passed through the Red Sea," the group's military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a statement.

It was carried out "after three ships from the same company docked at occupied Palestinian (Israeli) ports" on May 4 and 5, he said.

The Huthis have since November launched a wave of attacks on shipping around the Red Sea, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with militant group Hamas.

The Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), which is run by a Western-led naval task force in the region, said Thursday that the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Yannis was targeted by a missile off of Yemen's coast.

According to the JMIC, as well as maritime security agency Ambrey and British maritime security agency UKMTO, the attack did not result in any casualties or damage.

The missile "impacted the water in close proximity" to the ship, UKMTO said.

On Friday, the US Central Command also reported the attack, saying "at approximately 7:26 a.m. (Sanaa time) on May 23, Iranian-backed Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) into the Red Sea".

"There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ship," CENTCOM added.

The Yemeni rebels, who control large swathes of territory, claimed to have launched two other attacks without specifying the date, on "the Israeli ship MSC Alexandria in the Arabian Sea" as well as "the Israeli ship Essex in the Mediterranean Sea".

"The Yemeni Armed Forces renew their warning to all companies (who) make deals with the Israeli entity that their ships, regardless of their destination, will be targeted," Saree said in the statement.

The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Huthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route which normally carries 12 percent of global trade.

Since January, the United States and Britain have launched repeated retaliatory strikes on Huthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks.

The strikes have done little to deter the Huthis, who have vowed to target Israeli, American and British vessels as well as all ships heading to Israeli ports.