Iran-Backed Houthis Kill Four Crew on Egyptian Ship in Bab El-Mandeb

Iran-backed Houthis attacked the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, and Yemen’s transport ministry said four crew members were killed while the U.S. military later said it struck a container ship attempting to sail toward an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.

“Four crew members were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday”

NBC News

The BBC reported that the Yemeni government said the vessel was hit with three ballistic missiles south of the port of Mocha, causing a fire on board and resulting in the deaths of four crew—three Pakistanis and one Indonesian—before a second missile strike targeted rescuers trying to evacuate the ship.

Arise News

NBC News said two rescuers from the National Resistance Forces (NRF) were also killed when the Houthis struck again after rescue crews arrived, and it put the total injuries at ten people, including seven crew members, two Coast Guard personnel and one NRF member.

Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar confirmed three Pakistani citizens had lost their lives and one had been injured, and he said Islamabad was in contact with Saudi and Yemeni authorities to obtain more details.

The Express Tribune and France 24 both described six people killed in the Bab al-Mandeb attack, with the coast guard saying the dead included four crew members—three Pakistanis and one Indonesian—and two members of Yemeni armed forces deployed during the rescue mission.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government said it “considers the Houthi terrorist militias fully responsible for the deaths, injuries and damage caused to the commercial vessel ‘Tihamah,’ as well as the grave consequences arising from these attacks,” according to RFI’s account of the Ministry of Transport statement.

In Pakistan, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar condemned the attack and warned that such actions “constitute a violation of international law and pose a grave threat to freedom of navigation and maritime security.”

BBC

NBC News reported that the Houthis confirmed they attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb and said it was carrying Saudi military equipment, while the Saudi Center for International Communication did not respond to a request for comment.

France 24 said the Yemen coastguard described the initial salvo as causing a fire and deaths and injuries among the crew, including three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national, and it said a second strike targeted the vessel as rescue workers carried out the mission.

Arise News tied the incident to broader supply risks, saying oil prices rose as deadly attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman heightened concerns over the security of major global shipping routes.

The attack came as shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and Red Sea had fallen by more than 50% since an earlier wave of Houthi attacks in 2023-25, and NBC News said traffic fell further after the Houthis announced their blockade last month, with an average of 32 ships per day passing through the strait last week.

“Shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and Red Sea has fallen by more than 50%”

NBC News

NBC News also reported that traffic was even more disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz, with just six ships passing through on Monday, down from a 10-day average of about 11 and prewar levels of some 130 to 140.

Arise News said diplomatic efforts aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz appeared to be making progress, and it quoted Interactive Brokers Senior Economist José Torres warning that markets were still awaiting concrete evidence of progress.

The BBC described the wider context as the Houthis launching attacks on shipping last month by announcing a naval blockade of Saudi ports, after a years-long truce in Yemen’s civil war collapsed.

Arise News said the incidents underscored the growing impact of the nearly six-month-old conflict on two strategically important global shipping routes, raising concerns over potential disruptions to energy supplies and international trade.