ADEN, Yemen, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The Houthi group in Yemen announced on Monday that it had carried out strikes targeting an "Israeli-operated commercial ship" in the Arabian Sea as well as American warships in the Red Sea.

In a statement aired by the group's Al-Masirah TV channel, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group's naval forces "carried out a targeting operation against an Israeli ship 'MSC SKY' in the Arabian Sea, striking it accurately with a number of naval missiles."

Sarea stated that just hours earlier, the Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at "a number of American warships in the Red Sea" in what he termed a "qualitative operation."

He described the strikes as retaliation for the "American-British aggression against Yemen" and a message of support for the "oppressed Palestinian people," vowing to continue interdicting Israeli shipping and vessels bound for Israeli ports "until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza is lifted."

Earlier in the day, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said two explosions hit a commercial ship off the coast of Yemen, sparking a fire onboard.

In a statement, the UKMTO said it received reports of the incident around 91 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's port city of Aden. It noted, citing the ship's master, that the first explosion occurred at a distance from the vessel, while the second caused damage.

It said, "The master has reported fire and smoke onboard... No casualties were reported."

According to Ambrey, another British maritime security agency, the Liberia-flagged ship has suspected links to Israel.

The explosions came amid heightened tensions in the region's vital shipping lanes. Since mid-November last year, Yemen's Houthis have launched around 50 attacks on commercial and military vessels passing through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, leading to a 40 percent reduction in commercial traffic through the area, a chokepoint for global trade.

In response, the U.S. and Britain launched attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen starting in mid-January, prompting the Houthis to expand their targeting to include American and British commercial vessels and naval ships.

On Saturday, the internationally-recognized Yemeni government reported that the British-owned, Belize-flagged cargo ship Rubymar, which was struck by Houthi missiles on Feb. 18, had sunk off the coast of Yemen. It is the first vessel lost since the Houthis began their offensive at sea last November. Enditem

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