Yemen Houthi rebels target a Liberian-flagged ship in Red Sea with missiles; no damage reported WFTV [Video]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea with missiles, producing an explosion near the vessel but causing no damage, authorities said.

The master of the vessel reported the explosion Monday and said no one was hurt, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The UKMTO later identified the vessel as the Pinocchio, managed by a Singaporean firm.

The Houthis used two anti-ship ballistic missiles in the attack, the U.S. military’s Central Command said.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack early Tuesday in a prerecorded statement, claiming the Pinocchio was an American ship without offering evidence to support the assertion.

He said the Houthis would continue their attacks, aimed at pressuring an end to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. However, the Houthi attacks targeting vessel since November have increasingly had little or no connection to Israel, the United States …