2 Filipino sailors dead in Huthi missile attack — Philippine gov’t
The attack on the cargo vessel Gulf of Aden also injured two other Filipino seafarers
This image obtained from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on March 6, 2024, shows the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier after it was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) launched by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The United States, on March 6, vowed to hold Yemen’s Huthi rebels accountable for a strike on a bulk carrier that killed two people, apparently the first fatalities in the insurgents’ attacks on shipping. (Photo by Handout / US Central Command (CENTCOM) / AFP)
Two Filipino crew members were among those killed in a missile attack by Yemen’s Huthi rebels on a ship in the Gulf of Aden, the Philippine government said Thursday.
Those killed in the attack on Wednesday appear to be first deaths resulting from Huthi attacks on merchant vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route.
READ: Houthi kills 3 crew members in Yemen rebels’ first fatal assault on shipping
“With great sadness, the Department of Migrant Workers confirms the deaths of two Filipino seafarers in the most recent attack by Houthi rebels on ships plying the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,” the agency said in a statement.
“We are also informed that two other Filipino crewmen were severely injured in the attack on their ship,” it added.
Manila is liaising with the ship owners and its crewing agency “to ascertain the conditions of the rest of the ship’s crew”, the department said.
READ: Filipino seafarer, injured after Russian missile hit ship in Black Sea, back in PH
An anti-ship ballistic missile struck the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned M/V True Confidence, after which its crew reported “three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship”, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on social media that the vessel was targeted with missiles “after the ship’s crew rejected warning messages” from the rebels.
The Iran-backed group began attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea last November, a campaign they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
READ: Tanker seized in Gulf of Aden, Filipinos among 22 crewmen held
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