Houthi video shows rebels planting bombs on a tanker in the Red Sea

By Jon Gambrell | Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen's Houthi rebels released footage Thursday showing their fighters boarding a Greek-flagged tanker and stuffing it with explosives. The tanker had previously been abandoned after the Houthis repeatedly attacked it, setting off explosions that could expose the Red Sea to a major oil spill.

In the video, the Iran-backed Houthis chant their motto as the bombs detonated on board the oil tanker Sounion: “God is greatest; Death to America; Death to Israel; Cursed be the Jews; Victory to Islam.”

The explosions were the Houthis' worst attack in weeks, disrupting the flow of $1 trillion worth of goods that are transported across the Red Sea each year as part of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They also halted some aid shipments to conflict-torn Sudan and Yemen.

The Sounion was carrying around 1 million barrels of oil when the Houthis attacked it with small arms, missiles and a drone boat on August 21. A French destroyer under Operation Aspides rescued the Sounion's 25-member crew of Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security guards, after they abandoned the ship and took them to nearby Djibouti.

Footage released on Thursday shows masked Houthi fighters with Kalashnikov rifles boarding the Sounion after it was abandoned and planting explosives through hatches on deck that lead to the oil tankers below. At least six simultaneous explosions can be seen in the footage.

Western countries and the United Nations have warned that an oil spill from Sounion could destroy coral reefs and wildlife in the Red Sea. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new Houthi footage.

The Houthis indicated on Wednesday that they might allow the Sounion to be salvaged, although the rebels had already prevented crews from reaching the abandoned ship once, the US military said.