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Houthis Claim Strike on Another Saudi Oil Tanker in Red Sea, Threaten Escalation

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Yemen-based Houthi militants have targeted a Saudi oil tanker in the northern Red Sea, they said on Wednesday, warning that such attacks would intensify in order to block all access points for Saudi Arabia's vessels.

The oil tanker Wafaa was hit by ballistic missiles in an attack off the Yanbu area as part of a "siege for siege" strategy, according to a statement shared on X by the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree.

Houthis have so far targeted eight Saudi oil tankers including this latest one, since the start of their declared blockade of Saudi Arabia on July 22, the statement said.

A total of 29 oil tankers from the kingdom have been forced to turn back in the Red and Arabian Seas so far, it said.

The group said that following the tightening of the blockade across the Bab-al Mandab Strait in the southern Red Sea, Saudi oil tankers have resorted to using the route towards the northern Red Sea.

"Therefore, the Yemeni Armed Forces affirm that their operations will continue and escalate in targeting Saudi oil tankers in the northern Red Sea to close all access points and prevent their passage, thus establishing a blockade-for-blockade equation, regardless of the consequences," the statement said.

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