Houthis Release Video of Alleged UAV Attack on Bulk Carrier

A new video released by the Iranian-backed Houthis appears to show an attack on a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier in the Red Sea on Monday.

The footage, which has not been verified, would be the first of its kind released by the Yemen-based terrorist group since launching drone and missile attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea region in mid-November in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

The grainy video shows an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) taking off and subsequently targeting a bulk carrier underway. The vessel in the video appears to be the M/V Cyclades. A time-stamp indicates that the footage was captured on April 29, 2024, between 09:39 and 09:42, as the drone approaches the vessel’s superstructure from the stern before cutting out.

The U.S. Central Command reported on Monday that between 10:00 a.m. and 5:20 p.m. (Sanaa time), the Houthis fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) and three UAVs from Yemen into the Red Sea, targeting the Cyclades, a Malta-flagged, Greece-owned vessel.

There were no reported injuries and the vessel continued on its voyage.

CENTCOM said that earlier, at approximately at 7:49 a.m., its forces successfully destroyed a Houthi-launched UAV heading towards USS Philippine Sea and USS Laboon in the Red Sea, with no reported injuries or damages to U.S., coalition, or merchant vessels.

The video comes following confirmation of the Houthis’ first attack in the Indian Ocean against the MSC Orion.

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