Yemen's Houthis say they targeted two Saudi oil tankers

Yemen's Houthis said early on Thursday they had carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers, and maritime security reports said one of the

vessels named by the group, the Saudi-flagged tanker Encelia, had been hit in the Red Sea.



The Houthis identified the two tankers as "ENCELIA" and "LAYLA", saying the vessels had violated a naval blockade imposed by the Iran-aligned group on Saudi Arabia. The Houthis said they targeted the tankers with a number of ballistic and cruise missiles.



A maritime security source said Encelia had transmitted a distress call via VHF, reporting it had been struck by a missile while operating at the outer port limits of Saudi Arabia's Jizan, in the Red Sea, and was on fire.



British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Saudi-flagged tanker ENCELIA was struck by an unknown projectile on its starboard side about 70 nautical miles southwest of Saudi Arabia's Al Shuqaiq at 2000 GMT.