Four killed in the Red Sea as Houthis claim ship attack

Four killed in the Red Sea as Houthis claim ship attack Yemen's Houthis attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, on Tuesday, Houthi-run news agency Saba reported, and Pakistan said on Wednesday that three of its nationals had been killed in an attack on a ship. Four crew members of a small cargo ship were killed when it was hit by the Houthis on Tuesday, Yemen's transport ministry said, adding the dead also included an Indonesian. The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah marked the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the Iran war began on 28 February. The Houthis said the ship was carrying Saudi military equipment. There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities. The Houthis declared on 20 July they would impose a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied. Since then, they have been launching attacks against Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Mocha and Marib, which are controlled by the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government based in Aden.