Six Killed in Houthi Attack on Ship in Bab al Mandeb Strait, First Shipping Deaths of This War

According to Al Jazeera, in a report published Wednesday, August 12, 2026 (21 Mordad 1405), Yemen's internationally recognized government said Houthi forces fired three ballistic missiles at the Egyptian owned cargo ship Tihamah in the Bab al Mandeb strait on Tuesday, August 11, killing at least six people (three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national, plus two rescue personnel) and wounding ten others. Yemen's Transport Ministry said the Houthis fired an additional missile at the site of the rescue operation. These are the first shipping deaths linked to the Houthis since the US and Israel launched their war with Iran on February 28.

The Houthi run Saba news agency claimed the group had targeted a Saudi ship carrying military equipment in Bab al Mandeb, without naming the vessel, and there was no immediate official Saudi response. Yemen's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and called for "decisive action" by the international community against the Houthis. The escalation follows the collapse of a years long truce between the Houthis and the Saudi led coalition, adding to concerns over shipping security and insurance costs for vessels transiting the Red Sea.