Three crew members aboard a commercial cargo ship were killed Tuesday after the vessel was struck directly by a ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels in the Strait. The attack marks an escalation in threats by Iran’s proxies in Yemen against international shipping routes. The dead are two Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national who were aboard the ship when it was hit. Initial reports indicate the ballistic missile was launched by the Houthis from the eastern Taiz province in Yemen and struck the commercial vessel with force as it traveled through the strategic waterway.
The attack comes amid ongoing terror threats from the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. The area is considered one of the world’s most important and central shipping routes for international trade, and the repeated attacks by the Yemeni terror group continue to undermine security and economic stability across the entire region.