DUBAI: A Saudi-led military coalition destroyed two Houthi boats threatening an oil tanker in the Red Sea on Wednesday, state media reported.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) coalition forces destroyed two boats deployed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement “which were threatening a commercial oil tanker in the Red Sea”, while two other boats escaped, the UAE state news agency WAM said.
There was no mention of whether the tanker had been damaged in the incident, which was also reported by Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya television. No details about the tanker were provided.
Last month, a Saudi oil tanker was hit off Yemen’s main port city of Hodeidah, suffering limited damage, in what coalition forces said was an attack by the Houthis, without identifying the type of weapon used in the assault. The Houthis said they had targeted a coalition warship.
The Western-backed coalition of mostly Gulf Arab states intervened against the Houthis in Yemen’s war in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government in exile and push back the Houthis, who still control the north of the country.