The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is seen at water’s surface in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen’s internationally recognised, Aden-based government, on August 10.

Khaled Ziad/AFP/Getty Images

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed today to have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since late July, when the militant group declared a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said.

Saba also reported the group said it sunk two military landing ships near Mokha – which it claimed were transporting Saudi weapons – as well as more than ten warships belonging to Saudi forces, without providing evidence.

CNN cannot independently verify the group’s claims, and there has been no immediate comment from Saudi authorities.

Some context: Clashes have intensified in recent weeks near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key maritime chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea, after the Houthis declared a blockade on ships from Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemeni government forces.

The Houthi group said Monday it had attacked what ⁠it described as ⁠a Saudi military landing ship and four escort ‌vessels ⁠in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen’s port city of Mokha, after a weekend of escalation in the region.