A cargo ship reported coming under attack by “unknown armed assailants” off Yemen’s Red Sea coast on Sunday, the British military said, as authorities investigated the incident near the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said the incident occurred about 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) southwest of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah. The UKMTO said the vessel reported being under attack by unidentified armed men, with the incident under investigation by authorities.The incident comes days after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels renewed threats to target commercial shipping. While the group has not resumed attacks in recent weeks, its previous drone and missile strikes on vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea during the Gaza war forced several global shipping companies to reroute traffic around the southern tip of Africa instead of using the Suez Canal, according to AP.The latest maritime alert also follows fresh fighting on land in Yemen. Earlier on Sunday, AFP reported that at least 14 troops aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government were killed in clashes with Iran-backed Houthi rebels south of Hodeidah. The fighting began late on Friday in the Jabal Dubas area of Hays district. A military officer told the news agency that 14 government troops were killed and 23 others injured in “fierce fighting”, adding that Houthi fighters briefly overran government positions before a counteroffensive regained control by dawn on Saturday.The officer described the assault as “the deadliest Houthi attack in years,” saying the rebels relied on snipers before launching drone and mortar attacks.Maritime security threats in the region are not limited to the Houthis. On July 1, suspected Somali pirates attacked a vessel about 76 nautical miles (140 kilometres) south of the Yemeni port of Balhaf, where four armed men aboard a small craft caused minor damage to the ship’s bridge, according to the UKMTO.
