Houthis kill four in first deadly attack since start of Iran war, Yemen says

Four people have been killed in an attack on a small cargo ship in the Red Sea suspected to have been carried out by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, the government of Yemen has said.

If confirmed, it would be the first deadly strike by the group on a vessel since the US and Israel started a conflict against Iran.

Yemen's transport ministry said the ship was hit with three ballistic missiles, south of the port of Mocha, causing a fire on board and resulting in the deaths of four crew, three Pakistanis and one Indonesian.

The Houthis began attacks on shipping last month - announcing a naval blockade of Saudi ports. They have not admitted carrying out the attack.

The conflict in the region has been ongoing since the end of February, punctuated by a faltering ceasefire which was meant to lead to a deal to end the war.

It has whipped up regional tensions, with the Houthis also attacking Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and oil facilities, in parallel with Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz - the vital waterway where a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas used to transit.

The attack comes after a years-long truce in Yemen's civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government collapsed last month.

The Houthis control much of north-western Yemen, and frequently clash with Yemen's internationally recognised government. Yemen's government operates out of Aden in the south, due to the capital Sanaa being held by the Houthis.