Houthis Open Second Maritime Front, Killing Six in Bab al-Mandab Attack

On August 11, Yemen-based Houthis attacked vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, killing six people aboard an Egyptian-owned ship — the first deaths from such an attack. The new front means commercial shipping now faces simultaneous disruption at both ends of the Arabian Peninsula, with Strait of Hormuz traffic down to eight vessels from a pre-war baseline of 130–140 per day.