A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden caused “fatalities” and forced the crew to abandon the vessel on Wednesday, authorities said, the first fatal attack in a campaign of assaults by the group over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A shipping source said three sailors were missing and four others were badly burned.
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The Barbados-flagged True Confidence bulk carrier was hit by a missile 50 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's Aden, with a fire continuing on board, the vessel's owner and operator said.
"The vessel is drifting," Liberia-registered owner True Confidence Shipping and Greece-based operator Third January Maritime Ltd said in a joint statement, adding that there was no current connection with any U.S. entity.
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Houthi fighters during a parade in support of Palestinians
(Photo: Khaled Abdullah / Reuters )
A U.S. defense official said smoke was seen coming from the True Confidence. The official, who also declined to be named, told Reuters a lifeboat had also been seen in the water near the ship.