The crew of a Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo vessel have abandoned ship off Yemen after it was hit by missiles fired by the Houthi movement.
The Rubymar was in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandab Strait when it was hit and the crew abandoned ship. The Houthis later claimed it had sunk.
It is one of the most damaging attacks so far by the Iran-backed Houthis.
The Houthis say their attacks are a show of support for the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A Houthi spokesman said the vessel suffered "catastrophic damage" and had sunk. There was no independent confirmation of this.
However, the UK government said the Rubymar was taking on water, had been abandoned and the crew taken to safety.
It condemned the attacks as "completely unacceptable" and said the UK and its allies reserved the right to respond appropriately.
The Houthi movement's spokesman also claimed its forces had attacked two US-owned cargo vessels, the Sea Champion and the Navis Fortuna, in the Gulf of Aden.
He added that Houthi air defences in the Red Sea province of Hudaydah had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) "while it was carrying out hostile missions against our country on behalf of [Israel]".
There was no immediate comment from the US military.
FULL REPORT AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68337027
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