The Philippines government announced on Thursday ( Mar 7 ) that two Filipino crew members were among the victims of a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a ship in the Gulf of Aden.
The victims of the Wednesday assault appear to be the first victims of Houthi attacks on merchant vessels passing through the crucial Red Sea business path.
The Department of Migrant Workers confirms the deaths of two Filipino seamen in the most recent Houthi rebel assault on boats plying the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to a statement from the organization.
Two additional Filipino crew members were seriously hurt in the assault on their ship, the statement continued.
According to the office, Manila is working with the boat’s owners and its crewing agency to find out how the rest of the crew is doing.
The Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned M/V True Confidence was struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile, and the ship’s crew reported” three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship,” according to the United States Central Command ( CENTCOM) in a statement.
Yahya Saree, a spokesman for the Houthi defense, claimed the ship was targeted with weapons” after the boat’s crew rejected warning emails from the rebels.”
Last November, the Iran-backed organization launched an attack strategy on ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, claiming to show unity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
Manila is still requesting the launch of 17 Filipinos who were taken prisoner by the Houthis in November when they seized their fleet in the Red Sea.