Vessel attacked by missiles southeast of Yemen's Aden, UKMTO, Ambrey say

Two missiles were fired at a vessel off the southeast coast of the Yemeni city of Aden on Thursday, causing a fire onboard, Britain's maritime agencies said, as Houthis keep up attacks on shipping to show support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war.

British maritime security firm Ambrey identified the vessel as a Palau-flagged, UK-owned general cargo ship which was headed in the direction of the Red Sea from Thailand.

U.S.-led coalition forces are responding to the incident, which took place 70 nautical miles from Aden, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said, without elaborating.

"It has been reported that a vessel was attacked by two missiles, resulting in a fire on board," the UKMTO said.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, have disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait in recent months, forcing firms to take a longer, more expensive route around Africa.

The attacks in the Red Sea have raised concerns that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza will create further instability across the already volatile, oil-rich Middle East.

As well as the trade disruption caused by the Houthis, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement has frequently exchanged fire across the border with Israel, while pro-Iranian militias have attacked U.S. forces in Iraq.

The United States has formed an international coalition to protect maritime navigation in the Red Sea in response to the Houthi attacks.