Explosions reported near tanker off Yemen

UK Maritime Trade Operations announced on Sunday evening that it had received a report from a tanker that observed several explosions nearby, about 60 nautical miles south of the Yemeni coastal city of Al-Mukha in the Gulf of Aden.

The agency added that the tanker’s crew are safe and there have been no reports of environmental damage. 

The incident comes as the Yemeni government has stepped up operations against the Houthis; it announced on Sunday the start of a large-scale military operation against them, while the group controls strategic coastal areas near Bab al-Mandeb.