The US Navy shot down yesterday Thursday in its southern sector Red Sea unmanned aerial vehicle and ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff for the Middle East (CENTCOM, “Central Command'') announced today.
“None of the 18 ships present in the area were damaged and no injuries were reported,” CENTCOM clarified via X (formerly Twitter). According to the same source, it was “the 22nd attempted attack by the Houthis against international shipping since October 19”.
Since the October 7 outbreak of the Israel/Hamas war, the Houthis, who control much of Yemen, they multiplied their attacks on the Red Sea against ships they consider to be “connected to Israel” in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is besieged and bombarded by the Israeli military.
Israel's main ally, the US patrols this maritime area of ​​strategic importance for global navigation along with other countries, within the boundaries of an international coalition to protect merchant ships from the Houthis, a movement close to Iran.
In recent weeks, Houthi missiles and drones have been shot down by American, French and British warships, as reported by international agencies and relayed by the Athens News Agency.
Washington also announced yesterday a series of sanctions that target the financing of the Houthis, especially natural and legal persons in Yemen and Turkey who, according to the American government, are involved in this financing.
US President Joe Biden's administration accuses Iran of actively helping Yemeni rebels launch attacks. The Islamic Republic denies this. Tehran also insists that it does not provide military support to the Houthis, a movement that is part of the so-called “axis of resistance”, along with the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Source: News Beast
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