Aden (South24 Center)

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia said in a statement issued Wednesday, Aug. 5, that it had attacked a Saudi oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, marking its second claimed strike on a Saudi tanker that day and extending the escalation from the northern Red Sea to waters off South Yemen.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree identified the vessel as the Daisy and said it was targeted with a ballistic missile. He claimed the missile struck the tanker directly and forced it to turn back. Saudi Arabia and the vessel’s operator have not confirmed the attack.

Earlier Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, reported an incident about 95 nautical miles southeast of Aden. The master of an oil tanker reported hearing a loud explosion near the vessel.

A military source told South24 Center that the Houthis had launched a missile toward the Gulf of Aden from a position in the Thirah mountain pass in Mukeiras, which geographically falls within Abyan Governorate.

The announcement followed an earlier Houthi claim that the group had targeted the Saudi oil tanker Wafaa with ballistic missiles off Yanbu on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast. The Houthis did not say when either alleged attack took place.

The group says the attacks are part of a maritime blockade it declared against Saudi Arabia on July 20. Saree threatened to prevent Saudi vessels from passing through either the northern or southern Red Sea, under what the Houthis describe as a “blockade for a blockade” policy.

The latest claims add to growing security risks across the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden. Shipping data showed that vessel traffic through Bab el-Mandeb fell sharply Wednesday, although Saudi Arabia has not confirmed either of the two alleged tanker attacks.