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Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Two Koreans Aboard Vessel Seized by Houthis


Tue 19 Nov 2019 | 12:06 PM
NaDa Mustafa

South Korea announced on Tuesday that the Iran-backed Houthi militias seized three vessels, including two Korean ones, near the western island of Kamran, Red Sea on Monday morning.

Two South Korean nationals are aboard one of the ships seized by Houthis, according to an official statement issued by South Korean foreign ministry.

Moreover, the Korean ministry added that the three vessels were captured on their way to the port of Berbera in Somalia, coming from the port of Jizan in Saudi Arabia.

"The two Korean companies obtained piracy information from one of the Korean detainees, via social media," the statement read.

Noteworthy, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting Houthis revealed earlier that the group had seized a ship towing a South Korean drilling rig. The incident took place late on Sunday.

"The Houthis, sailing in two boats, boarded the vessel and robbed the crew at gunpoint," Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said. "This terrorist operation reflects the real danger this terrorist militia poses to international marine navigation."

"It also poses a criminal precedent against the security of the Mandeb Strait and Southern Red Sea," he added.

The Houthis, who control Sanaa and most of Yemen’s other populous areas, have stepped up attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia in recent months.