Yemen's Houthis claim first attack on shipping lanes in two weeks

CAIRO (Reuters) -Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Sunday that it targeted a Liberia-flagged container vessel in the Gulf of Aden, claiming its first attack on shipping lanes since Israel carried out a retaliatory airstrike in Hodeidah port on July 20.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement that the MV Groton was attacked by ballistic missiles.

British maritime agency UKMTO and British security firm Ambrey said on Saturday that the vessel was targeted by a missile 125 nautical miles east of Yemen's port of Aden. Both said that no water entry or oil leaks were observed.

Built in 2002, the ship was heading to Djibouti, according to Refinitiv data.

The attack is the first since an apparent lull following Israel's attack on Hodeidah, which occurred a day after a drone launched by the Iranian-backed group hit Israeli economic hub Tel Aviv.

The Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since last November in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The attacks have drawn U.S. and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Hatem MaherEditing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Cawthorne)