EU Launches Aspides Mission Amid Red Sea Ship Attacks

The European Union formally launched a naval mission to protect Red Sea shipping from Yemen's Houthi rebels as a US-owned cargo vessel came under fire twice in the region.

The Huthis, who control much of war-torn Yemen, have been harassing the vital shipping lane since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.

The EU aims to have the mission -- called Aspides, Greek for "shield" -- up and running in a "few weeks" with at least four vessels, an official said.

The United States is already spearheading its own naval coalition in the area and has conducted retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, as has Britain.

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of God Almighty, carried out two military operations targeting two American ships in the Gulf of Aden. The first ship is the 'Sea Champion' and the other is the 'Navis Fortuna.' The targeting was carried out with a number of appropriate naval missiles, and the hits were accurate and direct," Yahya Saree, Huthis' military spokesman said.

The dozens of Houthi attacks have roiled shipping in the Red Sea, forcing some companies to take alternative routes including a two-week detour around the tip of southern Africa.

The ship's master reported "evidence of shrapnel and damage to paintwork" in the second incident, the Royal Navy's UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

Earlier, the Huthis claimed an attack on a British ship in the Gulf of Aden, after Ambrey reported an attack on a UK-registered cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait linking the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea.

The UKMTO reported an incident 65 kilometers south of Mokha on Yemen's Red Sea coast, without naming the ship. The location would be towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.