Houthis claim to have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since start of blockade

• Yemen’s Houthis claim they have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since July 20.
• The group also claims it prevented nearly 50 Saudi tankers from transiting the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed Wednesday that they have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since July 20, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping, the Houthi-run Saba news agency reported.

“Since July 20, we have targeted 8 Saudi oil tankers, 5 in the Red Sea and 3 in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea,” the group said, according to Saba.

The Houthis also claimed that nearly 50 Saudi oil tankers had been “prevented from transiting the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea and forced to return.”

Saba further reported that the Houthis claimed to have sunk two military landing ships near Mokha, which they said were transporting Saudi weapons.

The group also claimed to have targeted more than 10 Saudi warships, without providing evidence to support the claims.

The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities.

Tensions have intensified in recent weeks around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

The escalation follows the Houthis’ declaration of a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping. Saudi Arabia is the main backer of Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces, which have fought the Houthis during years of war.

On Monday, the Houthis said they had attacked what they described as a Saudi military landing ship and four escort vessels in the Red Sea off Yemen’s port city of Mokha.

The claim came after a weekend of heightened tensions in the area, raising further concerns over the security of commercial shipping through one of the world’s most important maritime routes.