{"id":16232,"date":"2026-07-06T10:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T10:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=16232"},"modified":"2026-07-06T10:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T10:22:14","slug":"yemens-houthis-kill-16-government-troops-british-agency-reports-attack-on-cargo-ship-in-red-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=16232","title":{"rendered":"Yemen’s Houthis kill 16 government troops; British agency reports attack on cargo ship in Red Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A cargo ship came under attack Sunday off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, the British military said, the latest maritime attack off the conflict-torn Arab country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Also this weekend, Yemen’s Houthi rebels<\/span> killed 16 troops in an attack on government-aligned forces, in some of the most violent fighting seen between the sides in years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both incidents were reported near the port city of Hodeidah, which is under control of the Iranian-backed rebel group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship reported being “under attack by unknown armed assailants” 30 nautical miles southwest of Hodeida.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A skiff approached the bulk carrier and opened fire, forcing security guards to return fire, before sailing back to a larger ship about 2 nautical miles away with its automatic identification system switched off, the UKMTO said. The cargo ship and crew were reported safe, the British military said, adding that authorities were investigating.<\/p>\n
No group immediately claimed the attack. The Houthis have threatened to begin attacking ships again. A Houthi spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
The rebels previously fired drones and missiles at ships that pass territory they control near the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. Their attacks during the Gaza war forced shipping companies to reroute vessels<\/span> around the southern tip of Africa instead of through the Suez Canal at the northern end of the Red Sea.<\/p>\n
The attack on government forces was reported south of Hodeidah, two medical officials told AFP on Sunday. Hospitals in the area received 16 dead and 22 wounded pro-government forces, the sources said. An officer with the government-aligned forces called it the “deadliest Houthi attack in years.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Houthis have been at war with the government<\/span> since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen.<\/p>\n
The officer said the Iran-backed Houthis briefly took control of pro-government positions in the clashes, which began late on Friday, before a counterattack to retake them concluded at dawn on Saturday. He said the rebels had attacked with snipers, hich accounted for most of the casualties, before launching drone and mortar salvos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another military official said the fighting resulted in “dead and wounded among (Houthi) ranks,” but did not provide any numbers or other details.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rebels control Yemen’s capital Sanaa and much of the north, including Hodeidah on Yemen’s western Red Sea coast, while the internationally-recognized government holds much of the south.<\/p>\n
The fighting between the two sides has largely been frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022. But on Friday the Houthis threatened airports and vital assets belonging to Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Yemen’s Aden-based government. The rebel group, part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States, accused the kingdom of trying to stop an Iranian plane from landing.<\/p>\n\n
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AFP <\/span><\/p>\n
contributed to this report.\n <\/p>\n<\/section>\n