Yemen’s Houthi rebels likely launch boat-borne attack against commercial ship in Red Sea

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

ABOARD THE USS LABOON IN THE RED SEA (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have likely launched a boat-borne bomb attack against a commercial ship in the Red Sea, further escalating their campaign despite a U.S.-led campaign trying to protect the vital waterway. In a warning to shippers, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center described the vessel on Wednesday as being hit in its stern by a small white craft southwest of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeida. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, but it typically takes them hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults. The use of a boat loaded with explosives raises the specter of 2000’s USS Cole attack, a suicide assault by al-Qaida that killed 17 sailors on board.