Houthis Kill Six in Double-Tap Missile Attack on Cargo Ship Near Perim Island

Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles at the cargo vessel Tihamah on August 11, 2026, killing four crew members and setting off a deadly second strike that claimed two more lives.

The Tihamah, a Tanzania-flagged general cargo ship operated from Dubai, was at anchor northeast of Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait when the first missile hit. A rescue boat came out to help. Houthi forces then struck the rescue vessel with a second missile, killing both Yemeni rescuers aboard.

The four crew members who died were three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national.

The Yemeni government said the Tihamah was carrying food and commercial goods. The Houthis claimed the ship was transporting military equipment and denied that the attack constituted a war crime.

The six deaths mark the first shipping casualties linked to Houthi forces since the United States and Israel began their military campaign against Iran on February 28, 2026.

The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the narrow waterway at the southern end of the Red Sea between Djibouti and Yemen, carries a large share of global trade between Europe and Asia. Perim Island, a small Yemeni island at the strait's centre, is a key reference point for vessels passing through the corridor.