SANAA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia said they seized a "military" ship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Red Sea off the Yemeni port.
"The UAE ship carries military equipment and entered the Yemeni regional waters without permission," Houthi military Spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a brief statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
"The ship was carrying out hostile acts... and we will release further details at a press conference within hours," he said, warning the Saudi-led Arab coalition against "any foolish act as the ship's crew members from different nationalities are still inside it."
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi militia in Yemen said in a statement reported by the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that the UAE-flagged commercial vessel was attacked and seized by the Yemeni Houthi militia off Yemen's port of Ras Issa.
It said the vessel carries medical equipment and was sailing from the Yemeni island of Socotra, where a hospital donated by Saudi Arabia is being built, to the Saudi port of Jazan.
The Houthis' move came a few days after the Yemeni government army backed by the coalition countries of Saudi Arabia and the UAE recaptured strategic areas in the oil-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib in central Yemen. Enditem
