RIYADH: The Arab coalition has thwarted a Houthi drone attack on a Saudi commercial ship, Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia continues to threaten global shipping lines, the coalition said.

It added that its efforts have contributed to securing freedom of navigation and the safety of ships transiting the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

The general secretary of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers condemned the attack.

It said in a statement that these attacks were “criminal terrorist acts” that threaten the international shipping movement and the security and freedom of global trade in the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs said  "these repeated hostilities reflect the clear determination of the Houthi terrorists to continue the vicious attacks on the Kingdom and destabilize security and stability in the region."

The “hostile attempt” to attack the Saudi ship comes after two crew members were killed when a petroleum products tanker managed by an Israeli-owned company came under attack on Thursday off Oman's coast. Israel’s Channel 13 TV quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official blaming Iran for the lethal attack in which a drone was used.