Morning brief: Houthis' unsuccessful drone strike on Indian-flagged tanker, 1 dead in Florida shooting, & more
Morning brief
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Sunday reportedly struck an Indian-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea. The attack, which was unsuccessful, prompted the vessel to head back towards India. The attack came a day after another oil tanker came under drone attack off the Indian coast. The US on Sunday said the attack was carried out by Iran.Pentagon in a statement to WION said that the attack occurred at approximately 10 am local time in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India. It said that the "motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker" was hit by "a one-way attack drone fired from Iran." Meanwhile in US, the authorities said they were responding to “an active shooting” at the Paddock mall in Ocala, located about 80 miles north-west of Orlando, on the day before Christmas Eve.
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Houthis strike Indian-flagged oil tanker with drone in Red Sea: US military
Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker with a drone in the Red Sea, the US military reported Sunday morning (Dec 24).
Pentagon accuses Iran for drone attack on 'Israel-affiliated' chemical tanker off Indian Coast
US Pentagon, regarding the Saturday (Dec 23) incident off the coast of India where a Japanese-owned "Israel-affiliated" chemical tanker MV Chem Pluto was reportedly targeted by a drone, told WION that it was "fired from Iran."
303 Indians include 11 unaccompanied minors as France continues human trafficking probe: Report
As 303 Indian passengers who were on a Nicaragua-bound plane continue to remain grounded by French authorities since Thursday (Dec 21), a Reuters report citing a source close to the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that these individuals also included eleven unaccompanied minors.
Florida shooting: 1 dead, several injured after gunman opens fire at shopping mall
One person was reported killed and another injured after a gunman opened fire at a shopping mall in Florida on Saturday (Dec 23).
Watch:US preparing to ease restrictions on weapons sale amid Saudi-Houthi peace talks
The United States is preparing to ease some of the restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia. This comes after the Gulf Kingdom is looking to finalize a peace accord with Yemen's Houthi Rebels.