[03/04/2018 04:22]

RIYADH-SABA
The Arab Coalition backing Yemen's government against Houthi rebels has announced that it thwarted a terrorist attack Houthis mounted against a Saudi oil tanker off the Yemeni coast of Hodeidah in the Red Sea.

The spokesman for the Coalition Colonel Turki al-Maliki said in a statement that one of the Saudi oil tankers was subjected today afternoon, to a "Houthi Iranian" attack in the international waters west of the seaport of Hodeidah, which is under the control of the Iran-backed armed rebels.

He said that one of the naval vessels of the Coalition intervened swiftly and foiled the attack. The oil tanker got off with only "a slight hit" and was able to continue on its journeyin the Red Sea escorted by one of the Coalition's warships.

"This terrorist attack poses a serious threat to the freedom of maritime navigation and international trade in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea," he said, warning that the attack couldhave caused"an environmental and economic damage."

He said that the persistent Houthiattempts to mount maritime terror attacks highlights the danger which the Houthi militia and their backers pose to the regional and international security.

He said that the seaport of Hodeidah is still used as a launch pad for terrorist operations as well as for the smuggling of rockets and weapons into Yemen.

He called for the seaport to be placed under international supervision to prevent its use as a military base to launch attacks against shipping lines.

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