Operation Prosperity Guardian: The Red Sea Cruise 2023-? But wait there's more! Iran + proxies, FAFO

[statsman 5473]

Well, Iran told us to stay away from their spy ship, the one that gives coordinates of our outposts to the Houthis and Iraqi militias. So, I guess that’s that. We wouldn’t want to escalate. 

[CHIEF 5094]

3 minutes ago, statsman said:

Well, Iran told us to stay away from their spy ship, the one that gives coordinates of our outposts to the Houthis and Iraqi militias. So, I guess that’s that. We wouldn’t want to escalate. 

Did they say the magic word?

CHIEF

[Neonmoon 38130]

9 minutes ago, statsman said:

Well, Iran told us to stay away from their spy ship, the one that gives coordinates of our outposts to the Houthis and Iraqi militias. So, I guess that’s that. We wouldn’t want to escalate. 

As longs as both sides keep saying they don’t want to escalate publicly while clearing attacking each other, it’s fine. Everyone believes a confident spokesperson over actions 

[FartingMonk 3608]

China might end up sinking that ship.  They told Iran to tell the Houthis to knock that shit out.  Iran told the Chinese they don't control the Houthis.  China is pissed that their costs for shipping has gone up 3-4x since this shit started and it's wrecking shop on their economy 

[thunderlounge 7897]

3 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

As longs as both sides keep saying they don’t want to escalate publicly while clearing attacking each other, it’s fine. Everyone believes a confident spokesperson over actions 

 

[Disco Strangler 1880]

2 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

GWB never got credit for basically stopping the AIDS epidemic in Africa. 

[Rex Kramer 1344]

2 hours ago, Disco Strangler said:

[statsman 5473]

Well, Iran is showing that it is in control of passage through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. The USN isn’t. Shipping may re-commence when Iran is satisfied with the ME situation. 
 
Thats how it is until something changes it. 

[atomheartbevo 89763]

2 hours ago, statsman said:

Well, Iran is showing that it is in control of passage through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. The USN isn’t. Shipping may re-commence when Iran is satisfied with the ME situation. 
 
Thats how it is until something changes it. 

This is interesting.  Wonder why they went into port.

 

[atomheartbevo 89763]

Iranian-Backed Houthi Terrorists conduct Multiple Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Attacks in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden:

On Feb. 6, from approximately 1:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Arabian Standard Time) Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired six anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Three of the ASBMs were attempting to hit MV Star Nasia, a Marshall Island-flagged, Greek owned-and-operated bulk carrier transiting the Gulf of Aden. At approximately 3:20 a.m., MV Star Nasia reported an explosion near the ship causing minor damage but no injuries. At 2 p.m. another missile impacted the water near the ship with no effect. At 4:30 p.m., USS Laboon (DDG 58), operating near MV Star Nasia, intercepted and shot down a third anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis. MV Star Nasia remains seaworthy and is continuing toward its destination.

The remaining three ASBMs were likely targeting MV Morning Tide, a Barbados-flagged, UK-owned cargo ship operating in the Southern Red Sea. The three missiles impacted the water near the ship without effect. MV Morning Tide is continuing its journey and is reporting no injuries or damage.

——

US Central Command ramping up their usage of the term “Iranian-backed”, and even China is getting pissed off.

Speaking of China, gotta respect the ships changing their info in tHe ship tracking sites.  Love their destination,

[bolverk 29702]

TL/DR: Iraq's getting pissed that it's becoming a conflict zone between the US and Iran, both there to fight the remnants of ISIS (but I'm sure both the US and Iran have a presence there for other reasons). They're more vocal publicly against our presence and might ask us to leave sooner than we want to.

Iraq Hosts Both U.S. and Iranian-Backed Forces. It’s Getting Tense.
As Iranian-backed groups and American forces, both of which have bases in Iraq, lock horns around the Mideast, things are becoming uncomfortable for the Iraqi government.

For years, Iraq has managed to pull off an unlikely balancing act, allowing armed forces tied to both the United States and Iran, an American nemesis, to operate on its soil.

Now things are getting shaky.

When Washington, Tehran and Baghdad all wanted the same thing — the defeat of the Islamic State terrorist group — the relationships were fairly tenable, but in recent months, as the war in the Gaza Strip sends ripples across the region, American and Iranian-backed forces have clashed repeatedly in Iraq and Syria. A U.S. strike on one of those militias last week killed 16 Iraqis, and Iraq is saying it has had enough.

“Our land and sovereign authority is not the right place for rival forces to send messages and show their strength.” the office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement on Sunday.

cont'd:

Spoiler

For many years, both Iran and the United States had their proponents within the Iraqi government, and the Iranian-backed armed groups and the American troops lived in a tolerable if uneasy balance.

That started to change in 2020 after the United States killed one of Iran’s top security and intelligence commanders, Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a widely revered figure at home, in a drone attack as he was visiting Iraq. The Iranians began pushing hard for the U.S. military to be ejected.

Iraqi leaders resisted, in part because of divisions over which country Iraq should lean toward. Even after 2022, when parties close to Iran were able to form a government, there was a notable distinction between what Iraq officials said about the United States publicly and what they said in private.

Now, Mr. Sudani’s government is sounding increasingly tough.

Its statement Sunday denouncing the fighting on its soil was particularly pointed in its criticism of the United States, describing last week’s attack in western Iraq as “a blatant aggression” that had jeopardized talks on reducing the number of American troops in Iraq. “Violence only begets violence,” the statement warned.

The comments reflected the thorny situation the Iraqi government finds itself in as it negotiates a withdrawal of the American troops that have been in Iraq off and on since 2003.

Iraq has been under pressure from Iran, which views the United States as a mortal enemy, to compel the complete removal of U.S. forces from its soil. But a number of military officials in Iraq and in the United States believe the country would benefit from a limited U.S. military presence focused on training and on tracking the remaining threat from the Islamic State.

The Iraqi government has deep political and military connections to Iran, and on Sunday it made only an elliptical reference to the Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq that have attacked U.S. camps and bases more than 160 times since the war between Hamas and Israel began in October.

It was those attacks that prompted recent instances of U.S. retaliation, including the one on Friday that killed 16 Iraqi soldiers, angering many in the Iraqi government. It followed a drone strike on Jan. 28 by an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia that killed three U.S. soldiers at a base in northwest Jordan.

Analysts who follow Iraq closely suggested that recent events have put the two countries at an inflection point, potentially forcing a faster withdrawal of U.S. troops than the United States — and many in Iraq — might have hoped for.

“The problem for both the Iraqi and U.S. governments, said Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at the London-based research group Chatham House, is “that neither wants an escalation and neither wants a continued presence of U.S. troops.”

Before the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s retaliatory bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip, both Iraq and the United States had been “on the same page,” Mr. Mansour said, and hoped to negotiate a mutually beneficial troop withdrawal arrangement.

But now there are new pressures. Much as the two countries might want to go back to the pre-Oct. 7 discussions, “things are changing, and they are trying to deal with this new, emerging reality,” Mr. Mansour said.

Colin P. Clarke, the head of research for the Washington-based Soufan Group, an intelligence and security consulting firm, said he was concerned that over the past few days, the rhetoric from both the Americans and the Iraqis had spiraled. The danger, he said, is “that the war of words becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, where the U.S. ratchets up its rhetoric and the Iraqi government does the same, and then it’s who’s going to flinch first.”

Mr. Clarke said he worried that the United States would withdraw its troops too quickly, a replay of the breakdown of negotiations in 2011, which resulted in the U.S. pulling all of its troops out of Iraq. Within two years, the Islamic State had taken over tranches of western Iraq and a year later, much of Iraq’s north, as well as precipitating a four-year war that cost tens of thousands of lives.

After the deadly American strike last week, Nuri al-Maliki, a former prime minister of Iraq who leads an influential Parliamentary party that supports the government, appeared at least publicly disinclined to give much room to the United States, saying it had targeted Iraqis “in cold blood.”

Hadi al-Ameri, one of the leaders of the Framework Coalition, which backs Mr. Sudani, went further. “We do not believe in negotiations,” he said, “and American forces must be removed immediately from Iraq.”

How the next few weeks unfold will depend on how Mr. Sudani navigates the twin pressures from Iran and the United States. The head of the Islamic Republic’s Security Council was in Baghdad on Monday, and the head of its Quds Force, Gen. Ismail Qaani, was there last week for meetings with Iraq’s security officials.

“Sudani has been undermined systematically for the last four months,” said Rend al-Rahim, the president of the Iraq Foundation, which promotes democracy and human rights in Iraq. The Iraqi leader, she said, has “done his utmost” to curb the Iranian-backed militias that have been targeting U.S. troops. “They haven’t listened to him,” she said.

“He was very angry,” Ms. al-Rahim said. “Then the U.S. strike came on top of this already building anger that now Iraq is an open field for the U.S. to settle scores with Iran.”

Mr. al-Sudani — much like President Biden and Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Khamenei — has domestic politics to consider, several Iraqi analysts said. “He worries that he now appears weak,” said Ehsan al-Shimmari, a political science professor at Baghdad University.

Beyond that, Mr. al-Shimmari said, the current situation has made clear the limits of his power. Even when it comes to one of the most major foreign policy decisions facing Iraq — the future role of the United States military there — it is not entirely up to him.

”He is waiting to hear what the Iranian position will be, and then, based on that, he will balance the considerations and make his decision,” Mr. al-Shimmari said. “but this makes him feel cornered.”

 

[Schulz2.0 28997]

 

 

[Parliament 14276]

You hate to see it.  But more than that, you love to see it.

[atomheartbevo 89763]

5 hours ago, Parliament said:

You hate to see it.  But more than that, you love to see it.

Unfortunately or fortunately it’ll give the Iraqis ammo for booting us out, but we need a more permanent solution to all of these back-and-forth attacks between us and Iranian proxies.

[InkaUtexas 26023]

Use Jordan and the UAE. Plus we do have a nice base in Qatar. Burgers were damn good there.

[Homercles 10206]

15 hours ago, Schulz2.0 said:

 

 

Seen pics that show we used one of those ‘Hellfire, Wustof Edition’ that Ginsu’d the dude in his car.  Looking at that video, there’s almost zero collateral damage with no blown out windows or bitches crying, throwing money and shit (Boondocks quote).  

Possible they zoom onto his cell signal from a Reaper.  Either way, gotta love the precision when Russia basically goes ‘well we almost hit the right CITY with our Cold War-era cruise missiles’.  

[bolverk 29702]

After a few quiet days, the Houthis pulled this yesterday.

 

Yemen’s Houthi rebels fire missiles at ship bound for Iran, their main supporter

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired two missiles at a ship carrying corn bound for a port in Iran on Monday, causing minor damage but no injuries to its crew, authorities said.

The attack on the Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Star Iris shows just how widely the Houthis now target ships traveling through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the two waterways.

The Star Iris had been heading from Brazil to Bandar Khomeini in Iran, the main backer and armer of the Houthis in Yemen’s yearslong war.

“The group owner and operator regularly trade bulk cargo with Iran, so this was assessed to be the likely destination,” said Ambrey, a private security firm. Ambrey added that the Star Iris sustained damage to its starboard side in the attack.

The Houthis sought to describe the Star Iris as an “American” vessel, and said they targeted the ship with multiple missiles. The Star Iris’ ultimate owner, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. of Athens, Greece, is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York. It did not respond to a request for comment.

Days earlier, another ship owned by Star Bulk, the Star Nasia, came under attack from the Houthis.

The Houthis’ military “will not hesitate to carry out more operations in retaliation to the Zionist crimes against our brothers in the Gaza Strip, as well as in response to the ongoing American-British aggression against our dear country,” Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a statement after the attack.

Iran did not acknowledge the Star Iris’ destination, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did in a statement early Tuesday. Central Command identified its cargo as Brazilian corn bound for Iran. Corn is a major Brazilian export to Iran, likely used in animal feed.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which oversees Mideast waters, reported the attack, saying it happened while the Star Iris was traveling south through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.

The ship’s captain “reports his vessel was attacked by two missiles and reports minor damage,” the UKMTO said. “Vessel and crew are safe. Vessel proceeding to next port of call.”

The attack on the Star Iris follows days in which no Houthi attacks on ships were reported. It’s unclear what caused the pause, though the U.S. and British militaries have conducted multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting the Houthis’ missile arsenals and launch sites in territory they hold.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israel’s offensive in Gaza. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.

[Pescado_Rojo 19427]

6 hours ago, bolverk said:

After a few quiet days, the Houthis pulled this yesterday.

 

Yemen’s Houthi rebels fire missiles at ship bound for Iran, their main supporter

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired two missiles at a ship carrying corn bound for a port in Iran on Monday, causing minor damage but no injuries to its crew, authorities said.

The attack on the Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Star Iris shows just how widely the Houthis now target ships traveling through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the two waterways.

The Star Iris had been heading from Brazil to Bandar Khomeini in Iran, the main backer and armer of the Houthis in Yemen’s yearslong war.

“The group owner and operator regularly trade bulk cargo with Iran, so this was assessed to be the likely destination,” said Ambrey, a private security firm. Ambrey added that the Star Iris sustained damage to its starboard side in the attack.

The Houthis sought to describe the Star Iris as an “American” vessel, and said they targeted the ship with multiple missiles. The Star Iris’ ultimate owner, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. of Athens, Greece, is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York. It did not respond to a request for comment.

Days earlier, another ship owned by Star Bulk, the Star Nasia, came under attack from the Houthis.

The Houthis’ military “will not hesitate to carry out more operations in retaliation to the Zionist crimes against our brothers in the Gaza Strip, as well as in response to the ongoing American-British aggression against our dear country,” Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a statement after the attack.

Iran did not acknowledge the Star Iris’ destination, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did in a statement early Tuesday. Central Command identified its cargo as Brazilian corn bound for Iran. Corn is a major Brazilian export to Iran, likely used in animal feed.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which oversees Mideast waters, reported the attack, saying it happened while the Star Iris was traveling south through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.

The ship’s captain “reports his vessel was attacked by two missiles and reports minor damage,” the UKMTO said. “Vessel and crew are safe. Vessel proceeding to next port of call.”

The attack on the Star Iris follows days in which no Houthi attacks on ships were reported. It’s unclear what caused the pause, though the U.S. and British militaries have conducted multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting the Houthis’ missile arsenals and launch sites in territory they hold.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over Israel’s offensive in Gaza. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.

[gsoda3 3276]

TL/DR: Iraq's getting pissed that it's becoming a conflict zone between the US and Iran, both there to fight the remnants of ISIS (but I'm sure both the US and Iran have a presence there for other reasons). They're more vocal publicly against our presence and might ask us to leave sooner than we want to.

And this, kids, is when we started sending weapons to isis.

[Homercles 10206]

7 hours ago, bolverk said:

The ship’s captain “reports his vessel was attacked by two missiles and reports minor damage,” the UKMTO said. “Vessel and crew are safe. Vessel proceeding to next port of call.”

[InkaUtexas 26023]

42 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

 

 

And this, kids, is when we started sending weapons to isis.

No we didnt. we sent them to Iraq who surrendered.

And those Dagestanis on the line who just got out of Russian jail? Yeah, about them. Funny, a Sunni group really never tried to attack the Syrian Shia state.

[Bevo 13591]

21 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

And those Dagestanis on the line who just got out of Russian jail? Yeah, about them. Funny, a Sunni group really never tried to attack the Syrian Shia state.

Can you explain this a little better?

[InkaUtexas 26023]

1 minute ago, Bevo said:

Can you explain this a little better?

Right before ISIS went off a lot of Dagestanis and Chechyns were let out of jail. So why did these Sunni fighters not go after Asad's Syria, but went east.

Edited February 14 by InkaUtexas
Fucked up my geo

[Schulz2.0 28997]

23 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Right before ISIS went off a lot of Dagestanis and Chechyns were let out of jail. So why did these Sunni fighters not go after Asad's Syria, but went east.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Omar_al-Shishani

[InkaUtexas 26023]

And he gets overlooked. ISIS was built. And not by the US.

[Viper 12111]

US Coast Guard intercepted Iranian weapons heading for the Houthis 

 

CENTCOM Intercepts Iranian Weapons Shipment Intended for Houthis

 

TAMPA, Fla. – A U.S. Coast Guard cutter, forward deployed to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, seized advanced conventional weapons and other lethal aid originating in Iran and bound to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen from a vessel in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 28.

 

The U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class fast-response cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr (WPC 1147), assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, located the vessel and boarded it in the Arabian Sea. The boarding team discovered over 200 packages that contained medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other military components.

 

The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of such aid violates U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216 (as extended and renewed by resolutions 2675 and 2707).

 

“This is yet another example of Iran’s malign activity in the region, ” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander. “Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is in direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce.”

 

CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions.

 

 

Edited February 15 by Viper

[InkaUtexas 26023]

Give it to Ukraine.

[MissingInAction 25134]

The Cutter is perfect for any Iranian floating shit box attack. Not sure how they fair against drones. I'd assume they are covered by USN frigates and such.

[InkaUtexas 26023]

38 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

The Cutter is perfect for any Iranian floating shit box attack. Not sure how they fair against drones. I'd assume they are covered by USN frigates and such.

I am sure there is overwatch on them. Again, we have a lot of assets in Djibouti.

[FartingMonk 3608]

The only thing those coasties are pissed off about is all this shit is cutting into their daily fishing 

[MissingInAction 25134]

Assets in da booty? 

Edited February 16 by MissingInAction
Booty

[Schulz2.0 28997]

Tatarigami_UA on Avdiivka.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1758206747565568488.html

[RPM 26330]

[B00M 6433]

Houthis are using UUVs and USVs now. 

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/18/1232332875/houthi-underwater-vessel-red-sea

 

[InkaUtexas 26023]

Wonder where they are getting them.

[InkaUtexas 26023]

This mess is only getting worse.

Crew abandon British-registered cargo ship off Yemen after Houthi attack

The crew of a Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo vessel have abandoned ship off Yemen after it was hit by missiles fired by the Houthi movement.

The Rubymar was in the Gulf of Aden and nearing the Bab al-Mandab Strait when it was struck, security firms said.

A Houthi military spokesman claimed that the ship suffered "catastrophic damage" and was at risk of sinking.

The UK condemned the "reckless attack" on the Rubymar and said allied naval vessels were "already on the scene".

It is one of the most damaging attacks yet carried out by the Iran-backed Houthis, and is the latest evidence that Western efforts to deter them are yet to succeed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68337027

[Herbie Hancock 7369]

These Houthis are insane. And trying to reason with them is insane. They are absolute madness. You don't talk to madness. You don’t try to reason with madness. You kill it. Anything else is an exercise in futility.

[InkaUtexas 26023]

Just now, Herbie Hancock said:

These Houthis are insane. And trying to reason with them is insane. They are absolute madness. You don't talk to madness. You don’t try to reason with madness. You kill it. Anything else is an exercise in futility.

The Saudis and Emirates were trying. Could not do it.

[thunderlounge 7897]

12 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

The Saudis and Emirates were trying. Could not do it.

Maybe it would help if we told them they’re women?

[Schulz2.0 28997]

6 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

Maybe it would help if we told them they’re investigative journalists?

Fify

[thunderlounge 7897]

That might work too. We’ll keep that in-pocket as a backup, in case of emergency. 

[Armybrat 40858]

7 hours ago, thunderlounge said:

Maybe it would help if we told them they’re gays?

Fify

[InkaUtexas 26023]

nah, they are cool with that.

 

[Gil Bang 25984]

8 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

This mess is only getting worse.

Crew abandon British-registered cargo ship off Yemen after Houthi attack

The crew of a Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo vessel have abandoned ship off Yemen after it was hit by missiles fired by the Houthi movement.

The Rubymar was in the Gulf of Aden and nearing the Bab al-Mandab Strait when it was struck, security firms said.

A Houthi military spokesman claimed that the ship suffered "catastrophic damage" and was at risk of sinking.

The UK condemned the "reckless attack" on the Rubymar and said allied naval vessels were "already on the scene".

It is one of the most damaging attacks yet carried out by the Iran-backed Houthis, and is the latest evidence that Western efforts to deter them are yet to succeed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68337027

can one of y'all explain the difference between "registered" and "flagged"?

[RPM 26330]

None really. It's who they pay taxes to.

[TKthunder2 4996]

1 hour ago, Gil Bang said:

can one of y'all explain the difference between "registered" and "flagged"?

None if legit. But smugglers and less than above board vessels will change their flags to avoid issues and/or hide their origin.

[Ghost of LL 15539]

17 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

None if legit. But smugglers and less than above board vessels will change their flags to avoid issues and/or hide their origin.

I mean, it's like @Gil Bang didn't watch Lord of War.

[InkaUtexas 26023]

A British registered ship attacked in the Red Sea has been damaged but has not sunk, BBC Verify has discovered.

On Monday, Houthi fighters claimed to have sunk the Rubymar. It would have been the most significant incident since attacks on ships began in November.

But the BBC has obtained an image of the ship from Wednesday - which shows it still above water.

The vessel's owner said it was being towed to Djibouti but could still sink.

Ships in the Red Sea have come under regular attack in recent months. BBC analysis shows the attacks have continued despite the US and UK launching strikes on Houthis in Yemen.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68363692

[Hate 20128]

Maybe we should stop announcing when we are going to hit them? 

[Boss Hogg 808]

On 2/21/2024 at 4:23 PM, InkaUtexas said:

A British registered ship attacked in the Red Sea has been damaged but has not sunk, BBC Verify has discovered.

On Monday, Houthi fighters claimed to have sunk the Rubymar. It would have been the most significant incident since attacks on ships began in November.

But the BBC has obtained an image of the ship from Wednesday - which shows it still above water.

The vessel's owner said it was being towed to Djibouti but could still sink.

Ships in the Red Sea have come under regular attack in recent months. BBC analysis shows the attacks have continued despite the US and UK launching strikes on Houthis in Yemen.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68363692