UK-owned cargo ship damaged in drone attack off Yemen

A British-owned cargo ship was damaged in a drone attack off rebel-held Yemen, a maritime security firm said on Tuesday, the latest in dozens of incidents in the Red Sea.

The Barbados-flagged ship "reportedly incurred minor damage on the port side", British firm Ambrey said, adding that there were no injuries.

According to another report the attack happened west of Hodeida, Yemen, and the projectile caused "slight damage” to the vessel's windows on the bridge, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. A small vessel had been nearby the ship before the attack, it added.

The private security firm Ambrey identified the vessel as a Barbados-flagged, United Kingdom-owned cargo ship. No one was hurt onboard the vessel, which suffered "minor damage,” the firm said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicions immediately fell on the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.

In recent weeks, the US and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and launch sites for its attacks.

The US and Britain struck 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday. An air assault Friday in Iraq and Syria targeted other Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan.

Agencies