Yemen’s Houthis have released a stunning video showing the moment the Islamist group’s armed terrorists seized a cargo ship in the Red Sea.
The Houthi terror group claims that the British-owned and Japanese-operated vessel, Galaxy Leader, is linked to Israel.
The video of the armed assault was published by Yemeni Military Media.
The footage, filmed by the Houthis during the hijacking, shows at least seven masked and armed men seizing control of the ship.
The terrorists fly in on a helicopter and land on the top deck of the ship.
The video purportedly shows the terrorists successfully seizing control of the vessel.
After taking control of the ship, the terrorists celebrate with Islanic chants.
They now appear to have raised both the Yemeni and Palestinian flags on board.
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The footage was released on Monday by the TV network Al Masirah, which is controlled by the terrorist group.
The ship was hijacked on Sunday by the Iran-backed group.
Galaxy Leader, a car carrier, was then taken to a Yemeni port.
The Houthis said they seized the ship because they claim it is linked to Israel.
However, Israel noted that the seized ship was instead British-owned and Japanese-operated.
On Monday, Japanese officials also confirmed the vessel was operated by Tokyo-based firm Nippon Yusen and said they were working towards securing its release.
Japan’s government said it was “directly approaching” Yemen’s Houthis over the incident
Tokyo was communicating with Israel “in addition to directly approaching the Houthis”, Yoko Kamikawa, the foreign minister, said.
He added that Japan “strongly condemns” the ship’s hijacking.
“We are also urging Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, and other countries concerned to strongly urge the Houthis for the early release of the vessel and crew members,” he said.
More than 20 crew members are believed to be on the ship including Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Filipino, Mexican, and Romanian nationals.
The vessel had been heading toward India from Europe with no cargo, Nippon Yusen said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blames Iran, which backs the Houthis, for the hijacking.
There were no Israelis aboard the ship and Israel was not involved in its ownership or operation, his office said on Sunday.
“This is another Iranian act of terrorism that represents an escalation in Iran’s belligerence against the citizens of the free world, with concomitant international ramifications vis-a-vis the security of global shipping routes,” his office said.
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