SANAA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said Monday that it had fired a ballistic missile at a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea off the port city of Yanbu, and claimed separate missile and drone attacks on "Saudi military forces" and a convoy near the border.
In a televised statement aired by the group's affiliated Al-Masirah TV, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the tanker "Amzan" was hit in the northern Red Sea, causing a fire aboard the vessel.
Sarea described the strike as "precise and direct" and said several other vessels had left the area afterward.
He said the attack was part of his group's declared maritime ban on Saudi shipping under what it calls a "blockade-for-blockade" policy.
Earlier Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that a tanker had been struck by an "unknown projectile" about 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu, without identifying the vessel or assigning blame.
Sarea also said Houthi forces targeted what he described as a "Saudi military convoy" in Yemen's southeastern oil-rich province of Hadramout near the border with Saudi Arabia, claiming to have destroyed or set ablaze more than 10 military trucks carrying weapons that had entered Yemen from Saudi territory.
In a separate operation, he said Houthi forces struck a "buildup of Saudi forces" in Yemen's northern Al-Jawf province, claiming the attack killed or wounded dozens, including commanders and officers, and destroyed several weapons depots.
The claims could not be independently verified, and Saudi authorities have yet to comment.
The latest attacks came amid a broader escalation since the Houthis announced a ban on Saudi-linked maritime traffic on July 20, with the group claiming a series of attacks on Saudi-linked vessels and targets inside the kingdom.
Yemeni government forces have also stepped up drone strikes on Houthi-held positions, while the Houthis have intensified missile and drone attacks on government-held areas in Marib and along the western coast.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. ■
