Yemen\u2019s Houthis have damaged an oil tanker and downed another MQ-9 Reaper drone of the United States as they promise more attacks in opposition to Israel\u2019s war on Gaza. The group\u2019s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in his latest televised video address early on Saturday that \u201cBritish oil ship Andromeda Star\u201d was targeted in the Red Sea with naval missiles and was directly hit. The US military confirmed that the group fired three antiship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea at multiple targets and damaged MV Andromeda Star. The vessel was recently sold to a company registered in the Seychelles. \u201cMV Andromeda Star reports minor damage, but is continuing its voyage,\u201d the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X, adding there were no injuries or damage reported by the maritime military coalition led by the US that is deployed in the area to counter attacks from Yemen. The Houthi military spokesman also said its air defence forces in Yemen also shot down an MQ-9 Reaper attack drone of the US military with a missile in the airspace of the Saada governorate \u201cwhile it was carrying out hostile missions\u201d. The US military did not comment on the drone, but US broadcaster CBS News confirmed that an MQ-9, which costs about $30m, \u201ccrashed\u201d inside Yemen early on Friday and said an investigation is under way. This is the third US attack drone shot down by the Houthis since the start of the war on Gaza, with the first brought down in November, followed by another in February. The Yemeni group made no comments about further attacks on vessels in its nearby waterways, but the US military said the anti-ship missiles fired by the Houthis also targeted MV MAISHA, an Antigua\/Barbados-flagged, Liberia-operated vessel. It reported no damage. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also confirmed two attacks on a vessel \u2013 which appears to be MV Andromeda Star \u2013 some 14 nautical miles (26km) southwest of al-Mukha (Mocha) in Yemen. It said a first explosion happened \u201cin close proximity\u201d to the vessel and a second attack, consisting of what is believed to be two missiles, damaged the vessel. The Houthi military had reported targeting \u201cIsraeli ship MSC Darwin\u201d in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, adding that it launched a number of missiles and drones at targets in the southern Israeli port city of Eilat. On Thursday, the group had launched an attack on the US-flagged, owned and operated Maersk Yorktown, along with Israeli-linked ship MSC Veracruz, with US and UK warships defending. The reinvigorated military activity by the Yemeni group comes after weeks of a relative lull when the number of attacks had dropped.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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