The Houthi group in Yemen published video footage of the moment they “stormed and burned” the Sounion crude oil tanker, flying the Greek flag, in the Red Sea, about a week ago.

Al Masirah Channel broadcast, on its account on the >

Watch video here

The leader of the group, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, described the operation as “daring and courageous that belies American claims about deterring Yemeni operations in support of Palestine.”

Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi explained that “two teams of naval forces (attacked) the ship in two stages and destroyed the cargo on it after booby-trapping and detonating it.”

A Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday that the tanker was still burning in the Red Sea and it appeared to have suffered a leak.

The tanker Sonion was targeted last week by several shells off the coastal city of Hodeidah in Yemen. The Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous region, said they attacked it in the Red Sea, where the group was attacking ships in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Pentagon spokesman, Major General Patrick Ryder, said that a third party tried to send two tugs to help rescue Sounion, but the Houthis threatened to attack them. 

According to US military officials, the burning oil leak appears to have been caused by fuel or engine oil from the ship itself. Officials said the crude oil barrels were not on fire. But the main concern is that the ongoing fire could spread quickly and threaten to ignite the million barrels of crude oil on board.

The Iran-aligned Houthis sank two ships and killed at least three crew members in their 10-month campaign, which upended global shipping by forcing shipowners to avoid the Red Sea route and the shortened Suez Canal shipping lane.

Sounion was the third ship operated by Athens-based Delta Tankers to be attacked in the Red Sea this month. Delta Tankers said in a statement that the attack caused a fire on board, which the crew extinguished.

The largest oil spill on record from ships occurred in 1979, when about 287,000 metric tons of oil leaked from the ship Atlantic Empress after it collided with another crude oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Tobago during a storm, according to the International Tanker Owners Association.< /p>