A naval mine planted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels exploded, killing three Egyptian fishermen in the Red Sea.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said in a statement published early on Friday by the Saudi Press Agency.

The coalition said that it responded to a call on Wednesday reporting that a fishing boat was sinking in international waters in the Red Sea as a result of a naval mine explosion.

Three of the fishermen on board were killed while the other three were rescued.

“The terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militia’s continuation of planting and deploying naval mines is a serious threat to maritime navigation and international trade in the South of Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait,’’ the coalition said in a statement.

A total of 137 mines were discovered and destroyed, the coalition added.

The Houthis have been locked in a devastating power struggle with the country’s Saudi-backed government since late 2014.

The conflict has intensified since March 2015, when the Houthis advanced on the government’s temporary capital of Aden, prompting Saudi Arabia and allies to start an air campaign fearing that the Houthi rebels will give its regional rival, Iran, a strategic foothold on the Arabian Peninsula.

Egypt is part of the coalition.

On Tuesday, 32 Egyptian fishermen arrived in Cairo after the Houthi rebels released them following several weeks of detention on charges of trespassing into territorial waters.

 

 

 

 

NAN