Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked the United States ship ‘Pinocchio’ with missiles in the Red Sea, as per a speech by the military spokesperson of the group which was televised early on Tuesday (Mar 12).
The Pinocchio is a container ship which carries the Liberian flag and is owned by Singapore-registered company Om-Mar 5 Inc, according to the public databases operated by Equasis and the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said that the military operations will be escalated by the group during Ramadan, an Islamic holy month, in solidarity with Palestinians who are involved in the Gaza war.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of Allah the Almighty, carried out a targeting operation against the American ship ‘Pinocchio’ in the Red Sea with a number of appropriate naval missiles, and the hit was accurate,” said Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea, as reported by Reuters.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces have confirmed that they will continue to prevent Israeli navigation or these (ships) heading to the ports of occupied Palestine in the Red and Arab Seas until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” he added.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that their military operations will be escalated, with the help of Allah the Almighty, during the month of Ramadan, the month of jihad, in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and for our mujahideen brothers in the Gaza Strip,” the spokesperson said.
US-British coalition airstrikes kill 11
The US-British coalition carried out airstrikes on Monday (Mar 11) on port cities and small towns in western Yemen in which at least 11 people lost their lives and 14 others were injured while defending commercial shipping, said a spokesperson for Yemen’s internationally recognised government, while speaking to Reuters.
Watch: Israel-Hamas war overshadows Ramadan preparations in Gaza
As per local media reports, at least 17 airstrikes were carried out across the country which included the principal port city of Hodeidah and Ras Issa Port.
The air strikes took place just days after the first civilian fatalities and vessel loss since the Iran-aligned Houthis started attacking commercial shipping in November to display their solidarity with the Palestinians amid the Gaza war.
(With inputs from agencies)
