According to 3 U.S. sources, militants thought to be Houthi rebels with Iranian support hijacked a Japanese cargo ship in the southern Red Sea in a helicopter strike.
The officials claim that at approximately 1:00 PM local time on Sunday, a helicopter circled over the Galaxy Leader, a ship flying the Bahamian flag and owned by Japan, and several armed people descended to the deck.
The Houthis released an image with the message, “We are going to sink your ships,” in Hebrew, Arabic, and English just a few days before the strike off the coast of Yemen. The image displayed a burning commercial ship owned by Israel.
The International Maritime Security Construct, a global organization that works to uphold security in regional waterways, warned all sailors in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb passage between Yemen and Djibouti on November 16 due to the threat, although it excluded any mention of the Houthis.
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