US embassy in Yemen says Houthis kidnapped ship’s crew after Red Sea attack
ISTANBUL
The US embassy in Yemen said Wednesday that the Houthi group kidnapped the crew of a cargo ship in the Red Sea after attacking it.
“After killing their shipmates, sinking their ship and hampering rescue efforts, the Houthi terrorists have kidnapped many surviving crew members of the Eternity C,” the embassy said in a statement on X.
It called for their “immediate and unconditional safe release.”
Earlier, the Houthis announced the sinking of the Eternity C after it was targeted in the Red Sea by a drone boat and ballistic missiles while heading toward the port of Eilat in southern Israel.
The group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said that Houthi forces “targeted the ship (ETERNITY C) while it was en route to the port of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) in occupied Palestine (Israel) using a drone boat and six cruise and ballistic missiles.”
Saree added in the video statement that the operation resulted in “the complete sinking of the ship.”
He pointed out that the operation is “documented with audio and video evidence.”
Saree also said that an unspecified number of crew members were rescued, given medical care and transferred to a safe location.
He noted that the ship was targeted after it ignored warnings and calls from Houthi naval forces.
He did not disclose the number of individuals on board or whether there were any casualties.
“The United States condemns the unprovoked Houthi terror attacks on the civilian cargo vessels MV Magic Seas and MV Eternity C,” the US State Department said Tuesday in a statement.
“These attacks demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security,” it added.
The Eternity C, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier, was targeted late Monday in what the EU Naval Force described as a suspected Houthi attack. Another vessel, the Magic Seas, was also attacked over the weekend.
Saree said Monday that the Magic Seas was targeted Sunday using “two unmanned boats, five ballistic and cruise missiles and three drones.”
The Houthis have been attacking ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones since late 2023, disrupting global trade for what it said was a show of solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where nearly 57,700 people have been killed in an Israeli onslaught.
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