A small cargo ship was attacked on Tuesday by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing three crew members, according to two Yemeni coast guard sources and two military officials in the government.

UK Maritime Trade Operations said it had been informed that a cargo vessel off the coast of al-Mokha, Yemen, had been hit by an unknown projectile, resulting in casualties.

British maritime security company Ambrey said the ship was reportedly targeted and damaged by the Houthis, killing three crew members, while at anchor 3.3 nautical miles northeast of Perim Island, Yemen.

Two Pakistanis and one Indonesian person were killed as the ship sailed from Salalah in Oman via Djibouti, the Yemeni sources said.

After the attack, the crew lost control of the ship and were approached by Yemeni coast guard, they added.

The Houthis have not yet claimed Tuesday’s attack.

If confirmed, the fatalities on the Tanzania-flagged Tihamah would be the first deaths in a Houthi strike on a ship since the Middle East conflict was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February.

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