Yemen's Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, said it had launched a ballistic missile strike against the Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern Red Sea, escalating its campaign against Saudi-linked shipping.
In a statement, the group's military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said the tanker was targeted near the Saudi port of Yanbu using several ballistic missiles, Caliber.Az reports.
According to Saree, the strike "was accurate."
The Houthi spokesman also claimed that since the group announced a naval blockade on July 22, it has attacked eight Saudi oil tankers.
He further alleged that 29 tankers had been forced to change course in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, and claimed Saudi Arabia was rerouting its vessels through the northern Red Sea to bypass the Houthi-declared blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Saree said the Houthis would expand their operations into the northern Red Sea to block all routes used by Saudi vessels as part of what he described as a "blockade-for-blockade" strategy.
By Sabina Mammadli
