Mocha: Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have claimed they attacked a Saudi military ship and four escort vessels in the Red Sea with missiles, according to the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Telegram. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities on Monday.

According to TRTworld.com, last Tuesday, the Houthis attacked a ship in the Bab al Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, as reported by the Houthi-run news agency Saba. Yemen's transport ministry stated that four crew members were killed in the attack. The strategic location of Mocha, near the Bab al Mandeb Strait, makes it an important international shipping route as it connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis imposed a naval blockade in July against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, claiming it was in response to a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation that Riyadh has denied. Meanwhile, Yemen's internationally recognized government reported on Monday that the Houthi group fired a salvo of missiles toward the Bab al Mandeb Strait and Yemen's Red Sea coast. The Yemeni army's Taiz military command announced on Facebook that it had detected the launch of two hypersonic ballistic missiles by the Houthi group toward the southwestern city of Mocha and the Red Sea coast.

The missiles were reportedly launched from the former headquarters of the 170th Air Defence Brigade on Mount Oman, located east of the Houthi-controlled city of Taiz, as per the army's statement. According to the 2 December news agency, affiliated with Yemen's government-aligned National Resistance Forces, Houthi forces fired as many as five ballistic missiles toward the Bab al Mandeb Strait. No casualties or material damage had been reported as of the time of publication.

In 2014, the Iran-backed Houthis overran much of the country, including Yemen's capital, Sanaa.