At least six people were killed on Tuesday when a cargo ship was hit in the Red Sea by missiles fired by the Houthi militia, Yemen’s government said, an escalation in the chaos that has engulfed shipping in the Middle East. The Yemeni Transport Ministry said in a statement that the vessel Tihamah was carrying food supplies and was hit while transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The ministry added that four crew members — three Pakistanis and one Indonesian — were killed when a fire broke out on board. Later on Tuesday, the Yemeni Coast Guard said that two members of Yemen’s armed forces were also killed during a rescue mission, when another Houthi missile targeted the vessel. … The group has in recent weeks fired on Saudi-linked oil vessels in the Red Sea and said it was imposing a maritime blockade against the kingdom, after deadly clashes with the Saudi-backed government in Yemen. (The New York Times)





