Houthis claim attacking Saudi vessels off Yemen's Red Sea port of Mocha

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked what they described as 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 on Monday.

There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities.

Mocha is a Red Sea port near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and an important international shipping route.

Last Tuesday, the Houthis attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, Houthi-run news agency Saba reported. Yemen's transport ministry said four crew members were killed in the attack.

The Houthis imposed a naval blockade in July against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied.

Two sources in Yemen’s internationally recognized government told Reuters earlier on Monday that the Houthis had attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with six missiles.

The sources added that the ship had been out of service for more than a year for maintenance and was believed to have been empty at the time of the attack.

-Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Writing by Eman Abouhassira; Editing by Michael Georgy, Kirsten Donovan/Reuters