Houthis escalate at Bab el-Mandeb, kill 3 sailors; China sends fleet to Gulf of Aden
In a development coinciding with the expansion of its attacks to five fronts inside Yemen, the Houthi militia escalated its assaults on international shipping lanes, targeting a commercial vessel with missiles as it transited the Bab al-Mandab strait. The attack killed three crew members—two Pakistanis and one Indonesian—while a fourth sailor remains missing, and seven others were injured, some in critical condition.
A senior source in the Yemeni government navy stated that the Houthi militia targeted the vessel "Tihama," which was carrying 11 sailors from Pakistan and Indonesia, as it sailed in the Al-Arudi area of the strait in the southern Red Sea. Following the launch of a government rescue operation, the militia fired another missile and shells, which also injured three members of the Yemeni Coast Guard.
The escalation did not remain confined to the sea, as Houthi operations expanded across five main fronts: Marib, Hadhramaut, Shabwa, Al-Dhale'e, and Taiz, with attacks extending to the western coast.
The group targeted the city of Al-Mukha and its port with five ballistic missiles and several drones. Marib was subjected to missile and drone strikes hitting residential neighborhoods. Meanwhile, a Houthi drone attack on the Bayhan front in Shabwa killed two soldiers and injured others. In the Al-Kirafat front east of Taiz, the Yemeni army foiled an infiltration attempt and announced the capture of several militia members.
The Yemeni army confirmed today that the Houthi group targeted residential areas in Marib with ballistic missiles and drones, and again bombed the city of Al-Mukha and its port. This came a day after two soldiers from the Shabwa Defense Forces were killed in a Houthi drone attack on the outskirts of the Bayhan district.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the Chinese Navy is committed to building and supporting a maritime community with a shared future and contributing to ensuring the security of global sea lanes, as well as enhancing regional peace and stability. In line with UN Security Council resolutions, China has maintained a regular escort fleet in the Gulf of Aden and waters off the coast of Somalia since 2008 to protect the security of international shipping routes. These fleets have escorted more than 7,000 Chinese and foreign vessels, rescued, protected, or assisted ships in distress, and participated in the evacuation of Chinese and foreign nationals from war zones.
In the Gulf of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced receipt of a report regarding an incident between a ship and military forces off the coast of Pakistan. Reports indicated that the container ship "Vela Nova," flying the Panamanian flag, may have been hit by a missile.
In parallel, the Wall Street Journal reported that US forces fired upon a ship that attempted to breach the embargo imposed on Iran, after its crew ignored warnings.
This comes amid a clear contraction in shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Kepler data showed that only six vessels transited in a single day, compared to an average of about 11 vessels over the previous 10 days. Before the war, traffic typically ranged between 130 and 140 ships daily. In contrast, shipping traffic through Bab al-Mandab remained at 25 ships per day, a level close to the average of the previous 10 days, which was approximately 24 ships.
