Houthis seize 'hostile' vessel off Yemen that Saudis say carried medical equipment

Military equipment is seen on a ship seized by Yemen's Houthi rebels off the Yemen's Red Sea coast in a frame grab from video handed out by the Houthi's media center on January 3, 2022. Houthi Media Office/Handout via Reuters

(Reuters) -The Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen hijacked a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel which it said was engaged in "hostile acts" but which the Saudis said was carrying hospital equipment.

The ship was heading to the Saudi port of Jizan, just north of Yemen, from the Yemeni Red Sea island of Socotra when it was attacked just before midnight on Sunday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, quoting coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki.