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Yemen’s Houthi group attacked a commercial ship passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Tuesday. A pro-government Yemeni media outlet reported that three crew members were killed in the attack.

According to preliminary information, Aljoumhouria TV of the pro-government National Resistance Forces reported that two Pakistani citizens and an Indonesian citizen on board the ship were killed in the attack.

The report did not reveal the identity of the ship nor the weapon used in the attack. There was no immediate information available about the extent of damage to the ship or the condition of the remaining crew.

According to the report of news agency Xinhua, Houthi rebels have not yet commented on this attack.

The incident comes amid recent Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in waters off Yemen, as well as missile and drone attacks on government areas and targets in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Earlier on July 20, the Houthis announced a ban on Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea, calling it a Saudi blockade of Houthi-held areas.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government said on Monday it would respond to continued Houthi attacks. The growing wave of missile and drone attacks on government-held areas has increased the risk of a large-scale conflict.

Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), said government forces were better prepared to face this new escalation and would no longer allow the Houthis to dictate the timing and scope of the military confrontation, according to the state-run Sabah News Agency.

During a meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh with ambassadors of countries supporting Yemen’s political process, al-Alimi said the government tried to preserve the peace that followed a U.N.-brokered ceasefire in 2022, but would not break its peace promise by giving the Houthis the opportunity to carry out attacks without consequences.

“The government did not initiate this increase, nor did it demand it,” Sabah News Agency quoted Al-Alimi as saying.

He said the recent attacks show that the military and political situation has changed. The attacks on Marib, Hadramaut and the West Bank will no longer be without cost.

His comments came days after Houthi attacks on government forces and infrastructure intensified in the oil-rich Marib, Hadramaut and Shabwa provinces, as well as the western coastal city of Mocha.

Actually, Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since late 2014. During this period, the Houthis had captured most of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.