Greek tanker drifting ablaze after suspected Houthi attacks in Red Sea

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Greek-flagged oil tanker traveling through the Red Sea came under repeated attack Wednesday, leaving the vessel “not under command” and drifting ablaze after an assault suspected to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the British military said.

The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a monthslong campaign by Houthis targeting ships over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year.

In the attack, men on small boats first opened fire with small arms about 90 miles west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

Four projectiles also hit the ship, it added. It wasn't immediately clear if that meant drones or missiles.

“The vessel reports being not under command,” the UKMTO said, likely meaning it lost all power. “No casualties reported.”

Later, the UKMTO warned the ship was drifting while on fire in the Red Sea.

The Greek shipping ministry later identified the vessel as the tanker Sounion, which had 25 crew members on board at the time of the attack as it traveled from Iraq to Cyprus.

Later Wednesday, the UKMTO reported a second attack in the Gulf of Aden in which two explosions occurred in the water close to a vessel, though they caused no damage.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks, though it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge their assaults.

The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four mariners.

Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the United States or the UK to force an end to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis have also launched drones and missiles toward Israel, including an attack on July 19 that killed one person and wounded 10 others in Tel Aviv. Israel responded the next day with airstrikes on Hodeida that hit fuel depots and electrical stations , killing and wounding a number of people, the rebels say.

After the strikes, the Houthis paused their attacks until Aug. 3, when they hit a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden. A Liberian-flagged oil tanker came under a particularly intense series of attacks beginning Aug. 8 , likely carried out by the rebels. A similar attack happened Aug. 13 as well .

The last three recent attacks, including Wednesday's, targeted vessels associated with Delta Tankers, a Greek company.

As Iran threatens to retaliate against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran , the U.S. military told the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. America also has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine into the Mideast, while the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group was in the Gulf of Oman.

Additional F-22 fighter jets have flown into the region and the Wasp, a large amphibious assault ship carrying F-35 fighter jets, is in the Mediterranean Sea.

阿联酋迪拜——英国军方称，一艘悬挂希腊国旗的油轮周三在红海航行时遭到多次袭击，导致该船“失去控制”并起火漂流。英国军方怀疑此次袭击是由也门胡塞武装实施的。

这是红海数周以来最严重的袭击事件，正值胡塞武装针对船只发起长达数月的袭击行动之际，起因是以色列和哈马斯在加沙地带持续不断的战争，这场战争扰乱了每年价值 1 万亿美元的货物通过的贸易路线。

英国军方英国海事贸易行动中心表示，袭击发生时，一些乘坐小船的男子首先在叛军控制的也门港口城市荷台达以西约 90 英里处用小型武器开火。

声明还补充说，另有四枚弹丸击中了这艘船。目前尚不清楚这些弹丸是无人机还是导弹。

英国海上运输办公室表示：“该船报告称失去控制​​”，这可能意味着它失去了所有动力。“没有人员伤亡报告。”

后来，英国海上运输办公室发出警告，称该船在红海起火漂流。

希腊航运部后来确认该船为油轮“苏尼翁”号，袭击发生时船上有 25 名船员，当时该船正从伊拉克驶往塞浦路斯。

周三晚些时候，英国海上运输办公室报告称，亚丁湾发生了第二起袭击事件，一艘船只附近的水域发生了两次爆炸，但没有造成任何损失。

胡塞武装并未立即声称对袭击事件负责，不过他们可能需要数小时甚至数天才会承认发动袭击。

自去年10月加沙战争爆发以来，胡塞武装已使用导弹和无人机袭击了80多艘船只。他们在袭击中缴获一艘船只，击沉两艘，并造成四名海员丧生。

其他导弹和无人机要么在红海被美国领导的联军拦截，要么未能到达目标。

反叛分子声称，他们袭击与以色列、美国或英国有关联的船只，是为了迫使以色列停止对加沙地带哈马斯的战争。然而，许多被袭击的船只与这场冲突几乎没有任何关联，其中一些甚至驶往伊朗。

胡塞武装还向以色列发射了无人机和导弹，其中包括7月19日发生在特拉维夫的袭击，造成一人死亡、十人受伤。胡塞武装称，以色列第二天对荷台达发动空袭，袭击目标包括燃料库和发电站，造成多人伤亡。

袭击发生后，胡塞武装暂停了袭击，直到8月3日，他们袭击了一艘途经亚丁湾的悬挂利比里亚国旗的集装箱船。一艘悬挂利比里亚国旗的油轮从8月8日起遭到一系列猛烈袭击，很可能是叛军所为。8月13日也发生了类似的袭击。

最近发生的三起袭击事件，包括周三的袭击，都以与希腊公司 Delta Tankers 有关的船只为目标。

伊朗威胁要对以色列暗杀哈马斯领导人伊斯梅尔·哈尼亚一事进行报复，美国军方命令“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航母打击群加快前往该地区。与此同时，美国还命令“乔治亚”号导弹潜艇进入中东，而“西奥多·罗斯福”号航母打击群则在阿曼湾活动。

更多 F-22 战斗机已飞抵该地区，而载有 F-35 战斗机的大型两栖攻击舰“黄蜂”号则位于地中海。