![Members of the Yemeni Coast Guard affiliated with the Houthi group patrol the sea as demonstrators march through the Red Sea port city of Hodeida in solidarity with the people of Gaza on January 4, 2024. [AFP via Getty Images]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1900662722.jpg)
Yemen’s Houthi group said early on Thursday that it had carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a statement that Houthi forces targeted two Saudi oil tankers that had violated the group’s shipping ban in the Red Sea. He identified the vessels as Encelia and Layla. Saree said the attack was carried out using ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones. He claimed the strikes were accurate and caused large fires on board both tankers. He also claimed that the Encelia and Layla had breached the maritime blockade imposed by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia. Reuters quoted a maritime security source as saying that […]