ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- A missile attack slightly damaged a commercial cargo ship off the coast of Aden in southern Yemen on Thursday, a Yemeni government coast guard official told Xinhua.

The Barbados-flagged ship Lycavitos was sailing in the Indian Ocean to the east of Aden when it was hit by a missile strike, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The attack occurred while the ship was crossing the internationally recognized transit corridor in the Indian Ocean, the source said.

Preliminary information indicated the vessel sustained minor damage from a fragment that struck the diesel generator's pipe, causing a diesel leak, the official said. All crew members were unharmed in the incident.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Operations Authority said it received a report of an explosion around 85 nautical miles east of Aden. The ship's captain reported that the crew members were all safe as the ship headed toward its next port.

Since last November, Yemen's Houthi group has been carrying out attacks in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait on ships linked to Israel, in a move to show its solidarity with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) fighting with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since last October.

In response, the United States and Britain have launched airstrikes and missile attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen since Jan. 12. The Houthis have vowed to retaliate by expanding attacks on ships, including American and British commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Enditem

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