A SUSPECTED Houthi attack damaged a ship in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, in the latest military action by Yemeni forces in protest against Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.

The attack targeted the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier True Confidence, which had earlier received a radio call from individuals claiming to be from the Yemeni military, according to the British navy’s Dubai-based Maritime Trade Operations centre.

A US warship managed to fight off another attack, with the USS Carney shooting down bomb-carrying drones and an anti-ship ballistic missile that were aimed at it by the Houthis.

The US later launched an air strike that destroyed three anti-ship missiles and three bomb-carrying drone boats, its Central Command said.

Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree acknowledged the attack, but said that Yemeni forces had targeted two US warships, without elaborating.

The Houthis “will not stop until the aggression is stopped and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, Iran announced that it would confiscate a $50 million (£39.2m) cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil that was being shipped US energy giant Chevron last April when Tehran’s forces seized the tanker carrying it.