WASHINGTON — A Norwegian-flagged commercial oil tanker with no apparent connection to Israel was hit by an anti-ship cruise missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, US military officials said late on Monday.
The MT Strinda issued a distress call reporting it had taken damage from the hit in the southern Red Sea north of the Bab el Mandeb strait, leading the USS Mason, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating nearby, to respond in assistance, an official told Al-Monitor.
The attack on the chemical oil tanker is the latest broadside launched by the Iran-backed Yemeni militants, who have threatened to close the Red Sea to all shipping linked to Israel in retaliation for Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.
The attack occurred around 4 p.m. EST as the Strinda passed through the Bab el Mandeb strait, US Central Command said on Monday night. "The Strinda reported damage causing a fire onboard, but no casualties at this time," CENTCOM stated.
