(Washington) The US Navy on Thursday shot down a drone and an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the southern Red Sea, the US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) said.
“None of the 18 ships in the area were damaged, and no injuries were reported,” Centcom said on X (formerly Twitter), indicating that it is “the 22e attempted attack by the Houthis against international ships since October 19.
Since the start of the war on October 7 between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen, have increased attacks in the Red Sea against ships they consider “linked to Israel”, in solidarity with the Palestinian territory, bombed and besieged by Israel.
Israel’s first ally, the United States patrols this strategic area of the globe with other countries, in an international coalition to protect maritime traffic from attacks by the Houthis, a movement close to Iran.
In recent weeks, several missiles and drones have been shot down by American, French and British warships.
The United States also announced on Thursday a series of sanctions targeting the Houthis’ financing circuits, targeting several people and entities in Yemen and Turkey that they consider involved in this financing.
Washington accuses Tehran of helping Yemeni rebels carry out these attacks, but the Islamic Republic has always denied providing them with military equipment.