Houthis claim missile strike as British oil tanker Marlin Luanda set on fire

Houthi rebels claimed to have struck a British-registered oil tanker with a missile, setting it on fire.

Yemeni naval forces attacked the tanker, the Marlin Luanda in the Gulf of Aden, the Iran-backed group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said.

“The strike was direct, and resulted [in] the burning of the vessel,” he added.

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported an incident 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden.

It comes after an earlier incident in which two missiles were reported to have exploded in the water.

UKMTO said authorities have been informed and are responding to the latest strike, warning other vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea since November in protest against Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, endangering shipping on a key route for global trade.

Houthi attacks ‘illegal and unacceptable’

Alongside numerous air strikes on key Houthi targets, the UK and US are also targeting key figures in the Iran-backed militant group with sanctions.

A second series of UK and US airstrikes carried out at the start of the week appears to have done little to deter Houthi action.

Earlier on Friday, a spokeswoman for the UK Prime Minister said: “We continue to call on [the Houthis] to step back from such action. We’re clear that this is illegal and unacceptable.”

UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron is currently finishing a trip to the Middle East, in a diplomatic bid to reduce tensions as the Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues.