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Arab Coalition: Oil Tanker Targeted with RPGs Off Yemen | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A ship passing through Bab al-Mandab. Asharq Al-Awsat


The Command of the Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen announced that a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker came on Wednesday under attack while passing through the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait.

The coalition statement said three Rocket Propelled Grenades were fired at the tanker from a naval boat on Wednesday morning near Bab al-Mandab between the islands of Yemeni Mayun and Djiboutian Saba’.

“None of the crew was hurt,” said the coalition statement carried by official Saudi Press Agency, adding that the tanker had sailed on into the Red Sea.

The coalition said it was investigating who was behind the attack.

It renewed its warning that the continuing practices of Houthi militias of arms and ammunition smuggling activities into Yemeni territories affect the security of navigation in this vital part of the world.

This is not the first time that a vessel comes under attack by Houthi insurgents in Bab al-Mandab.

In January, the rebels attacked a Saudi frigate off the Yemeni coast, killing two sailors in a suicide attack.

In October, a United Arab Emirates civilian vessel that was carrying humanitarian assistance and wounded civilians was also targeted by Houthis.