Houthis claim attack on Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea

Houthis from the Yemeni rebel movement "Ansar Allah" have struck the Saudi oil tanker Wafa with ballistic missiles in the northern part of the Red Sea.

This was announced by the movement's military spokesman, Yahya Saree.

According to him, the rebels "attacked the Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern part of the Red Sea in the area of the [port of] Yanbu using several ballistic missiles." According to Saree's statement, the hit was precise.

The military spokesman for "Ansar Allah" noted that since the rebels declared a naval blockade on July 22, the Houthis have attacked a total of eight Saudi tankers. In addition, according to his statement, 29 tankers were forced to change course in the waters of the Red and Arabian seas. Saree also claims that Saudi Arabia is redirecting its vessels to the northern part of the Red Sea in an attempt to circumvent the rebels' blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. In connection with this, the Houthis threatened to expand operations in the northern part of the waters in order to close all routes for Saudi vessels as part of a "blockade for blockade" strategy.