Houthis target 5 Saudi vessels near Yemen’s Mocha in Red Sea
Why it matters: The strike hit traffic near the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, days after an attack there killed four crew members.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they fired missiles at a Saudi military vessel and four escort ships off Mocha, a Red Sea port near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted the claim on Telegram on Monday, but Saudi authorities did not immediately verify it. The area sits on one of the world’s key shipping lanes, linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The reported attack follows another strike last Tuesday in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that Houthi-run Saba said targeted a ship; Yemen’s transport ministry said four crew members were killed. The Houthis imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea in July, saying it was retaliation for what they called a Saudi siege on Yemen, a charge Riyadh denies.