Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday they struck an oil tanker sailing under the Togolese flag in the Strait of Hormuz, state news agency IRNA reported.

Tehran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait since the United States and Israel struck Iran in late February.

The Islamic republic wants to charge tolls for passage, attacking ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.

"The Togo-flagged oil tanker 'Trend' had been targeted and detained after a fire broke out on board," the statement said, referring to an attempted "illegal passage" through the vital waterway.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced on Thursday a "security incident in the Strait of Hormuz, 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) northeast of Khasab, Oman".

UKMTO did not provide details about the vessel involved, and it is unclear whether it is the same mentioned by the Revolutionary Guards.

Meanwhile, fresh fighting left scores of combatants dead in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia reported its first death since hostilities flared anew and its Yemeni government allies sought to roll back the group's recent gains.

The sides have been locked in increasingly violent exchanges since Yemen's civil war resumed, with the Houthis launching a new offensive that saw them capture all of the country's Red Sea coast.

At least 23 government soldiers were killed over the previous 24 hours in missile and drone attacks by the group in two southwestern provinces, a government military official told AFP on Thursday.

Houthi military sources reported 40 fighters killed in Saudi airstrikes and fighting on the ground during the same period.

Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia's civil defence agency reported the country's first fatality since the Houthis began targeting their territory as part of their revived campaign.

"The fall of shrapnel from a downed drone in Taif governorate resulted in one death, two injuries, and material damage to several buildings and vehicles," the agency said, adding that the person killed was a Yemeni national.

Images posted by Saudi state media showed windows in cars and shop fronts shattered by the shrapnel, with nearby buildings also damaged.

The incident came a day after Riyadh accused the Houthis of launching a "cowardly" thwarted drone attack targeting Islam's holy city of Mecca, a claim the group denied. (AFP)



Edited by Altis Wong