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full screen A robot attack against the merchant ship True Confidence has claimed at least three lives. Photo: US Military Command Centcom/AP/TT
At least three sailors were killed in a drone attack by Iran-backed Houthi militants on a merchant ship south of Yemen on Wednesday, the US military’s Middle East Command said.
At least four more people have been injured, three of whom are in critical condition. All belong to the ship’s crew.
The attack on the Barbados-flagged vessel True Confidence took place in the Gulf of Aden. The crew has abandoned the ship, which has significant damage, according to the US military.
– We continue to witness these irresponsible attacks without regard for innocent civilians traveling through the Red Sea. And now, unfortunately and tragically, they have killed innocent civilians, Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the US State Department, said earlier on Wednesday.
American and British defense sources had then stated that at least two had been killed.
The Houthi movement, which controls parts of war-torn Yemen, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iran-backed movement has since November attacked civilian shipping off the coast of Yemen, with the justification that it supports the Palestinians in Gaza.