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A Greek merchant ship was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, Reuters reports, citing two Greek shipping ministry sources. The incident caused only material damage and none of the 24 people on board were injured, one of the sources told Reuters. So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Yemeni Shiite rebels are suspected.
The Zografia ship was not carrying cargo and was en route from Vietnam to Israel at the time of the attack, the sources said. According to the AP agency, the ship sails under the Maltese flag and the crew consists of 20 Ukrainians, three Filipinos and one Georgian. Citing satellite data, AP writes that the ship continued sailing after the hit.
Since November, merchant ships in the Red Sea have been attacked by Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels who control large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. The rebels say the attacks are a response to Israel’s war in Gaza and some countries’ support for the Israeli government and only targeted ships with ties to Israel or en route to Israeli ports.
In response to these attacks, the United States and Britain carried out dozens of air and sea strikes on Houthi military positions in Yemen last week.
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