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Coalition forces thwart attempt by Yemen rebels to blow up tanker near Suez

SAUDI oil tankers are coming under attack by rebels in Yemen equipped with remote-controlled boats loaded with explosives in an effect to block access to the Suez Canal.

Houthi fighters, backed by Iran, reportedly piloted a bomb-laden vessel from a nearby ship and set it on course to ram into a tanker in a stretch of ocean leading to the Suez Canal.

Gulf coalition forces destroyed the bomb-laden vessel before it reached the tanker. However, the rebels have vowed to continue their attempts until Saudi-led troops stop advancing towards the Houthi stronghold of Hodeidah, reported UK's Express.

According to the coalition, the rebels also have the capability to lay mines, both on and underneath the water, and have divers who are able to attach mines to ships.

The port city of Hodeidah is close to the 12-mile-wide Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which is a chokepoint at the south of the Red Sea. An average of 60 commercial and passenger vessels pass through the waters daily on their way to or from the Suez Canal at the northern end of the Red Sea.

Some four million barrels of oil are also transported along the route daily. "The Houthis are threatening international trade and marine navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait. There is an imminent threat every day," Gulf alliance spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki was quoted as saying.

"There is no doubt that Hodeida port is now a base from where they are launching terrorist attacks," he added.

A partial blockade of Hodeidah has also prevented supply ships from entering the port.