SANAA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Three Yemeni government navy personnel went missing on Sunday after their patrol boat was attacked and destroyed in the Red Sea off Yemen's western coast, a naval source told Xinhua, blaming the Houthi group.

The source said the boat was attacked by armed men in small boats near Zuqar Island while returning to the government-held port of Mocha in Taiz province after completing a military mission.

The source accused the Houthi group of carrying out the assault but did not provide evidence.

The Houthi group has not commented on the incident.

The attack occurred about a week after the Yemeni government forces said it had thwarted an attempt by Houthi armed boats to approach Zuqar Island from the direction of the international shipping lane in the Red Sea.

Located about 52 nautical miles from the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah, Zuqar Island holds a strategic position overlooking maritime routes leading to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a vital gateway for global trade between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Government forces recaptured the island from the Houthi group in 2017 and deployed around 1,500 coast guard personnel there in 2019 to strengthen maritime security.

The latest incident comes amid escalating tensions in the Red Sea.

The Houthi group last week announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping and has since claimed attacks on Saudi tankers, prompting heightened security measures by Yemeni government forces and raising concerns over the security of navigation in the Red Sea.

The group said Thursday that it targeted two Saudi oil tankers violating the ban in the Red Sea. The Saudi Press Agency later confirmed that a Saudi company-owned tanker had been hit and caught fire.

A Houthis source, cited by Lebanon-based broadcaster Al Mayadeen, said Sunday that the group had targeted three Saudi oil tankers over the past 48 hours. The claim could not be independently verified. ■