Yemen

SANAA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for launching a missile attack on a U.S. ship in the Gulf of Aden.

"In support of Palestinian people and response to the U.S. and British aggression against our country, our naval forces carried out an attack targeting the U.S. ship 'Ginko Picardie' in the Gulf of Aden with a number of missiles, and the strike was accurate and direct," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

SANAA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A landmine killed a boy in Hodeidah province, western Yemen, on Wednesday, local authorities said.

The boy stepped on the explosive device in Al-Zaafran village, in the southern part of the war-torn province on the Red Sea coast.

Landmines and other explosive devices have killed or injured thousands of civilians, especially children, in Yemen since the conflict began in late 2014, when the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognized government from the capital Sanaa.

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthi movement will expand its targets in the Red Sea region to include U.S. ships, an official from the Iran-allied group said on Monday, as it vowed to keep up attacks after U.S. and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.

Attacks by the Houthis on ships in area since November have impacted companies and alarmed major powers in an escalation of Israel's more than three-month war with Hamas militants in Gaza. The group says it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

SANAA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. navy airforce shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen toward a navy battleship, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on early Monday morning.

The missile, which was fired at approximately 4:45 p.m. (1345 GMT) on Sunday toward a destroyer of the U.S. navy operating in the southern Red Sea, was intercepted in the vicinity of the coast of Hodeidah by U.S. fighter aircraft, said the central command, adding that no injuries or damage were reported.

SANAA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Houthi group in Yemen launched on Wednesday missiles targeting a cargo ship in the Red Sea, the group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement.

The Houthi forces carried out an operation targeting the ship CMA CGM TAGE, he said in a live broadcast aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

"The operation came after the ship's crew refused to respond to calls from our forces, including fiery warning messages," he said.

ADEN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Iran-aligned Houthis have both committed to steps towards a ceasefire, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen said on Saturday.

The Houthis, which control north Yemen, have been fighting against a Saudi-led military alliance since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and left 80% of Yemen's population dependent on humanitarian aid.

SANAA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Tuesday said they attacked with a naval missile a Norwegian ship loaded with oil and heading for Israel in the Red Sea.

"We did not resort to targeting the Norwegian ship until its crew rejected all our warning calls," Yehya Sarea, a Houthi military spokesman, said in a statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

SANAA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Leader of Yemen's Houthi militia Abdul-Malik al-Houthi on Tuesday vowed to attack any Israeli ship sailing in the Red Sea or the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait to revenge Israel's strikes on the Gaza Strip.

"Our eyes are open to constantly monitor and search for any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, and in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait in particular, and off the Yemeni territorial waters," al-Houthi said in a televised speech aired by the group's satellite TV channel al-Masirah.

SANAA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia has launched new drone attacks against Israel, hitting several targets deep inside the Jewish state, according to the militia's military spokesman.

"We will continue our military operations against Israel until it stops its aggression on Gaza," Yahya Sarea said in a statement broadcast by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV on Wednesday evening.

The statement did not specify what targets were hit, or provide any evidence of the attacks. Israel has not confirmed or denied any new Houthi strikes on its territory.

SANAA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- An Omani delegation arrived in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on Thursday to persuade the Houthi group to resume a truce with the Yemeni government, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

The delegation will hold talks with Houthi leaders, said the television channel, without providing details.

Oman, which borders both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, has been actively engaged in brokering a truce between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.