CENTCOM confirmed early on Thursday that True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier, was transiting the Gulf of Aden where it was hit by the missile strike a day earlier.
“The missile struck the vessel, and the multinational crew reports three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship. The crew abandoned the ship and coalition warships responded”, CENTCOM said on its X account.
On Wednesday, the Yemeni army also confirmed that it had struck an American ship “with a number of appropriate naval missiles” in the Gulf of Aden, saying that the vessel was engulfed with fire as a result of the “accurate strike”.
The army said that True Confidence was hit after its crew ignored warnings from the Yemeni naval forces.
In its statement, the army stressed that the operation was in retaliation for the ongoing airstrikes by the US and the UK on Yemeni soil, and was also in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
It said Yemen will continue its attacks in the Red and Arab Seas until the Israeli regime lifts its siege on Gaza, and the US-led aggression against Yemen comes to an end.
Yemeni armed forces have been striking Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea since mid-November in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. They have been targeting American and British ships as well, after the two countries launched airstrikes on Yemeni soil in mid-January in response to what they called threats to international shipping.
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