Cairo, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi spokesman Yahya Sareya said in a statement on Feb. 17 that the Houthis fired multiple missiles at a British oil tanker sailing in the Red Sea and hit the target.
Sareya said the tanker was named "Beihe Sanxing". He did not disclose the timing of the blow.
According to public shipping information, the "Nord River Samsung" flies the Panamanian flag, is owned by a Norwegian company and is operated by a Greek company.
The United States said on the 16th that the "Beihe Samsung" oil tanker was attacked by a missile on the port side while sailing in the Red Sea on the same day, and said that this was "another illegal attack on international routes" by the Houthis.
The British Maritime Operations Office said on the 16th that a merchant ship sailing in the southern waters of the Red Sea was attacked by a missile on the same day, and the missile was very close to the merchant ship, and the crew and hull were damaged. The office did not disclose the names of the merchant ships that were attacked.
After the outbreak of a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict last October, the Houthis used drones and missiles to repeatedly attack targets in Red Sea waters. Since January 12 this year, the United States and the United Kingdom have launched successive airstrikes on Houthi targets, killing and injuring many people. Some countries condemned the actions of the United States and the United Kingdom, arguing that they were a violation of Yemen's sovereignty and would exacerbate regional tensions. (ENDS).