2023-11-25T13:11:26+00:00
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/ A US military official reported on Saturday that a commercial ship owned by an Israeli businessman was attacked in the Indian Ocean on Friday by a drone believed to be Iranian-made.
Agence France-Presse quoted the official as saying, “We are aware of reports that a Shahed 136 drone hit a ship in the Indian Ocean, but the ship suffered minor damage and no casualties were recorded on board.”
For its part, Embrey Maritime Security Company reported that the ship flying the Maltese flag and operated by a French company was damaged when the drone exploded close to it.
She stated that “the ship is run by a company linked to Israel, and the assessment indicates that this is the reason for its targeting,” noting that in the days before the attack, transmitters tracking the ship were turned off shortly after it sailed from one of the ports in the UAE.
Reports of the attack come about a week after the Houthi rebels in Yemen announced that they had seized a ship owned by an Israeli businessman in the Red Sea.
The ship’s detention came within the framework of a threat by rebels close to Iran to target Israeli ships in a new escalation of their attacks against the Hebrew state in response to its war against Gaza.
The Houthis warned last week that Israeli ships were a “legitimate target” for them.
Since the outbreak of war between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” on October 7, the Houthis have launched a series of missile and drone attacks from Yemen towards southern Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.