Houthis deny responsibility for drone attack hitting Egypt's Damietta Port
The attack is the first on Egyptian territory since the Iran war erupted in February, raising the risk of further widening the Middle East conflict.
Egypt on Thursday confirmed that a drone attack caused a fire aboard two vessels off the Mediterranean port of Damietta a day earlier, marking the first such attack on Egyptian territory since the Iran war erupted in late February. The confirmation comes as the Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen denied any responsibility for the attack.
In a statement released early Thursday, the Egyptian cabinet said preliminary investigations revealed that the fire that affected the two vessels was caused by a drone, adding that the blaze was brought under control.
The statement said no party claimed responsibility for the attack and that authorities will continue their investigations “to determine the circumstances of the incident and to take the necessary measures to preserve Egypt’s interests and national security.”
What happened: On Wednesday, UK-based maritime security firm Ambrey reported that a drone attack struck the Energos Winter, a US-owned-and-operated floating LNG storage facility docked at Damietta Port, sparking a fire.
