STORY: Yemen's Houthis claim new attack on U.S. vessel in Gulf of Aden
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 31, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 1, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:23
LOCATION: Sanaa
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): YAHYA SAREA, Houthi military spokesman
2. various of Houthi weapons (video released by Houthis on Wednesday)

STORYLINE:

Yemen's Houthi group said Wednesday that they launched a missile attack on a U.S. commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, claiming a "direct hit."
   
The group said they targeted the vessel KOI, a container ship that was heading to Israeli ports, "in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and response to the U.S.-British aggression against Yemen," according to a statement released by Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic): YAHYA SAREA, Houthi military spokesman
"We launched a naval strike on an American trade vessel, KOI, bound for Israel, in solidarity with Gaza and in retaliation for the U.S.-UK assault on Yemen. Our missiles hit the ship accurately in a successful military action. This operation comes only a few hours after our forces targeted the American destroyer (USS Gravely) with several naval missiles in the Red Sea."

Sarea said the attack was carried out with "several suitable naval missiles that directly hit the target."
   
He said the attack came hours after the group fired missiles at a U.S. destroyer, the USS Gravely, in the Red Sea.
   
He noted the Houthis would confront "any U.S.-British escalation with escalation" and would not hesitate to launch more attacks in retaliation for any "foolishness" against Yemen.
   
Furthermore, he added that all U.S. and British ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea were "legitimate targets" for the group as long as the U.S.-British "aggression" continued.
   
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. side on the claims.
   
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement that U.S. forces launched a strike on a Houthi missile launch site in northern Yemen and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was ready to launch. It said U.S. forces identified the missile in Houthi-held areas of Yemen and determined it posed an imminent threat to U.S. aircraft.
   
The Houthis confirmed that the U.S. strike hit a site in the northern part of Saada city, according to a statement broadcast by al-Masirah TV.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Sanaa.
(XHTV)