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Fate of Pakistani crew on ship attacked near Yemen uncertain
[DAWN] Mystery surrounds a reported missile attack on a merchant ship manned by Pak crew off the coast of Yemen, near the war-torn country’s Hodeidah port.Syed Mohammad Ahmed, an official of Arabian Marine Services, the manning agent of the Iranian vessel MV-Jouya-8, claimed that eight Pak sailors, seven of whom had been provided by his company, were on the ship when it was hit by a missile four days ago. The ship was reportedly on its way to Dubai after delivering cargo in Egypt. Talking to Dawn over the phone, Mr Ahmed said, his information was based on a telephone call received from Mr Kabir, the chief officer of the ship, who reportedly jumped off and swam to the coast. "The fate of other seven Pak crew members is still unknown," he said, adding the vessel probably sank after the strike. He said Mr Kabir had called him from Yemen. The Red Sea port of Hodeidah is controlled by Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews... militia. "It was a minute and a half call and the quality of voice was very bad so I don’t have more details," said Mr Ahmed, adding that he had shared the available information with the Pakistain Navy. There was no claim about the source of the attack. Earlier this month at least six Pak sailors were killed when their ship was bombed by Saudi jets off Mokha coast in the Yemeni province of Ta’izz. It remains unclear what happened to the other six on board that ill-fated ship. Posted by: Fred 2016-12-24 |
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