Yemen’s Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, announced Wednesday that its forces struck two more Saudi tankers as its forces continue enforcing a blockade on Saudi Arabia, which was recently imposed following Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport.
Ansar Allah military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree first announced a missile strike on a tanker, the Wafa, in the Red Sea near the Saudi port of Yanbu. Later in the day, he claimed another missile attack on a second tanker, the Daisy, which he said was hit while transiting the Gulf of Aden.
So far, there’s been no confirmation of the strikes from Saudi Arabia. According to Yemen’s SABA news agency, Saree said that “the targeting comes within the framework of enforcing the maritime blockade against the Saudi enemy, according to the principle of ‘blockade for blockade.'”
A day earlier, Ansar Allah targeted the Najran Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, which reportedly destroyed a radar. According to Saree, Yemeni forces have targeted at least eight tankers since the blockade began, and that 29 have been prevented from reaching Saudi Arabia, as the threat of. being attacked has made ships reverse course.
While the Saudis have launched some strikes against Yemen since the blockade began, they have refrained from a major military retaliation, and Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Riyadh was seeking to contain the conflict via Omani-mediated talks. The report said that the US had been warning against an escalation that could lead to the complete closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
But at the same time, the US supported the strikes on the Sanaa airport, and The Guardian reported that Riyadh was preparing for a major escalation in Yemen, which could include a ground offensive. President Trump has also threatened to restart his bombing campaign against the Houthis, which failed to stop attacks on Israeli shipping last year, but did kill a large number of civilians.
