Houthis attack ship in Gulf of Aden again

(Patria) - Two crew members were killed in a rocket attack by Houthi rebels on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden off the southern coast of Yemen, US officials announced.

This is the first time there have been fatalities since the Iran-backed Houthi movement began attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, as they say, in a sign of support for Palestinians in the Hamas-Israel war.

The rest of the crew abandoned the ship "True Confidence", which caught fire and is now adrift at sea, reports the BBC.

A US official told CBS that six crew members were injured.

The movement's statement said that the crew members ignored warnings.

The British Embassy in Yemen stated that the sailors' deaths were a "sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at international shipping", and insisted that the attacks must stop.

Shipping traffic has been significantly disrupted due to frequent attacks by Yemeni rebels, as ships on the route connecting Asia and the Middle East with Europe are targeted, and the latest attack could lead to an escalation of tensions.