First civilian casualties reported in ongoing Houthi rebel attacks

The British Embassy in Yemen announced two civilian deaths after Houthi rebels attacked a commercial vessel on Wednesday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said the crew abandoned the vessel but did not mention other injured crewmen. U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller described the casualties as “inevitable,” adding that “the United States will continue to hold the Houthis accountable for their attacks.” Wednesday’s attack comes on the heels of the State Department’s sanctioning of two Houthi ship owners involved in attacks on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Did the Houthis claim the attack? A Houthi spokesman confirmed the attack on the True Confidence, saying the commercial ship “rejected warning messages” from the Iran-backed group. The rebels further insisted they would not stop attacks in the Red Sea until “the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.” The Yemen rebels have been attacking commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea since November.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report in The Sift on defensive strikes on Houthis by the United States.