Houthi missiles set Saudi tanker Encelia ablaze in Red Sea, first attack since new Bab el-Mandeb blockade
Yemen's Houthis say they hit two Saudi oil tankers, Encelia and Layla, in the Red Sea early Thursday with missiles and drones. Saudi state agency SPA confirmed a fire on the Encelia's bow; crew safe. First tanker hit since Houthis declared a Red Sea blockade on Saudi shipping.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement says it attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea in the early hours of Thursday, using a mix of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. Saudi Arabia's state news agency SPA, citing an official at the General Transport Authority, confirmed that the strike set the bow of the Encelia on fire, though all crew members aboard were reported safe. This marks the first confirmed attack on a vessel since the Houthis announced a naval blockade against Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this week. The group said the blockade was retaliation for Saudi Arabia's own blockade on Yemen and a recent strike on the international airport in Sanaa, the Houthi-held capital. The attack comes on the same night the United States carried out its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran. President Trump said the US would hold Iran responsible for Houthi actions in the Red Sea, according to reporting. The strike opens a new front in a widening regional conflict, placing Red Sea shipping lanes, a route that carries a significant share of Gulf oil exports, directly in the path of the fighting for the first time in this round of hostilities. Sources: US News, Al Jazeera, CNBC