UKMTO says missile hits ship east Aden as US, 'Israel' on high alert
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The maritime security group reports that the attack did not result in fires onboard the ship.
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A screengrab from a video posted earlier by the Yemeni Military Media depicting the moment the Transworld Navigator ship was hit with a USV in June 2024 (YAF Military Media)
The British Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Saturday evening that a ship was hit by a missile 125 NM east of Aden, southern Yemen.
UKMTO's statement added that the strike did not result in fires, water ingress, or oil leakage.
The alert came shortly after the UKMTO said it had received a report of a "small explosion" near a ship about 170 NM southwest of Aden.
Last month, the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) carried out three operations targeting American and Israeli-affiliated and bound ships in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The spokesperson for the YAF, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, confirmed then that the American vessel, Maersk Sentosa, was targeted and hit in the Arabian Sea, while the Israeli MSC Patnaree ship sailing in the Gulf of Aden was directly hit by several drones.
Read more: Missile strikes spark fire on two vessels off Yemen's Aden
Earlier, the leader of the Ansar Allah movement, Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi, confirmed that the Americans acknowledged that Yemen has kept their entire navy away from the Red Sea, and they are aware of the strength of our strikes.
Preparing for a military response
This comes as "Israel" and the United States are on high alert in anticipation of the Iranian and Resistance Axis response to the recent Israeli assassinations and aggressions.
In the past two weeks, the Israeli regime has assassinated two high-ranking Resistance leaders and carried out an air aggression on Yemen.
Hamas' Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday while on an official visit. Less than 12 hours later, "Israel" assassinated a Hezbollah top military leader, Sayyed Mohsen Shokor, in an airstrike on Beirut, which also resulted in the martyrdom of Iranian military advisor Milad Bidi and five civilians - three women and two children. The Israeli regime also conducted an airstrike on Yemen's Ras Kathib power station located in the Hodeidah port, leading to the martyrdom of six civil servants.
In light of preparations to protect "Israel," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered on Saturday the deployment of additional naval warships, fighter jets, and anti-ballistic missile defense systems in the Middle East.
"These posture adjustments add to the broad range of capabilities the U.S. military maintains in the region, including the USS WASP Amphibious Ready Group / Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) operating in the Eastern Mediterranean," with over 4,500 Sailors and Marines onboard across the force, Pentagon said in a statement.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
