CAIRO (Reuters) -Six small craft approached a merchant vessel about 50 nautical miles from the Yemeni city of Mocha on Saturday before leaving the area, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization said. “The vessel and crew were reported safe,” UKMTO added in an advisory note on the incident. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest against Israel’s war in Gaza. Various shipping lines have suspended operations, instead taking the longer journey around Africa. A drone launched from Yemen was shot down i…