Saudi-led coalition says Yemeni rebels hijacked vessel

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen says Iran-aligned rebels have hijacked a vessel south of the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia's state-run news agency quoted coalition spokesman Col Turki al-Malki as saying Monday that Houthi rebels seized the vessel while it was towing a South Korean drilling rig the previous day.

Al-Malki said the "attack" threatens vital shipping routes in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, used for oil shipments from the Gulf to Europe, as well as goods from Asia to Europe. A Houthi leader, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi tweeted that their forces seized a South Korean vessel in Yemen's waters and would release it.

The Houthis have in the past targeted oil tankers and military ships belonging to Saudi Arabia and its partners in the coalition fighting in Yemen's war since 2015.