Yemen's government says four crew members were killed when a small cargo ship was struck by three ballistic missiles in the Red Sea, in an attack suspected to have been carried out by the Iran-backed Houthis. If confirmed, it would be the group's first deadly strike on a vessel since the wider conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran began, and marks a serious escalation after the Houthis launched a naval blockade of Saudi ports last month. The Houthis have not admitted responsibility for the attack.

The ship, named Tihamah and sailing under a Tanzanian flag with an Egyptian operator, was hit south of the port of Mocha and caught fire, killing three Pakistani and one Indonesian crew member; Yemen's transport ministry said it had been carrying food. The Yemeni Navy came under fire while attempting to assist, injuring three more people, according to maritime risk firm Vanguard. The incident follows the collapse last month of a years-long truce in Yemen's civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government, amid wider regional tensions including Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.