Aden (Yemen), March 9 (IANS): Yemen's Houthi group has launched a missile attack on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, continuing their escalation of tension in the region, said a pro-government Coast Guard official.

The official, who requested anonymity, said on Friday that a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, PROPEL FORTUNE, was targeted by missile fire while sailing about 50 nautical miles off the coast of Aden, Xinhua news agency reported.

He confirmed that at least two missiles detonated in the vicinity of the vessel, although there were no immediate reports of casualties among the crew.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations confirmed the incident, noting that it had been alerted to two blasts near a vessel at around 15:00 GMT on Friday, nearly 50 nautical miles off the coast of Aden.

So far, the Houthi group has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack follows a similar missile strike by the Houthis on Wednesday targeting the Barbados-flagged "TRUE CONFIDENCE" cargo ship, which the group claimed was American-owned. That attack killed at least three crew members and seriously injured four others of the multinational 20-person crew, according to the US Central Command.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have increasingly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which they claim is in retaliation for Israeli strikes in Gaza. In response, the US and Britain launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen starting in mid-January.

The spiraling confrontation disrupts a major global shipping lane, as millions of barrels of oil pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on a daily basis.