US and allied forces shot down 15 drones fired by Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) announced on Saturday.
Shortly after, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a large-scale attack, claiming to have fired missiles at an “American” commercial vessel and launched drones at American warships in the “Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
It was one of the biggest attacks by Yemeni rebels since they began a campaign of drone and missile strikes against ships transiting the Red Sea, vital for global trade, in November in a sign of solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip where Israel has been at war against the Islamist movement Hamas since October 7.
This “large-scale” attack occurred before dawn in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Centcom said.
Coalition forces and US military command assessed that the drones posed “an imminent threat to merchant ships, the US Navy and coalition ships in the region”, according to the same source.
As a result, “US Navy ships and aircraft, as well as several Coalition Navy ships and aircraft, shot down 15” of the drones fired by the Houthis, Centcom added in a post on the social network. x.
Four of these drones were shot down by France, one of the allied countries, according to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.
The coalition’s interventions aim to “protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer,” Centcom said.
“37 drones”
For his part, the Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, indicated on X that the rebels had carried out two separate operations.
The first targeted the commercial ship Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden, he said, describing it as an “American” boat. Ship-tracking websites describe the bulk carrier as flying the flag of Singapore, but do not give its current location.
In a second Houthi operation, Mr. Saree added, “37 drones” were fired at “a number of US warships”.
In Yemen’s capital Sanaa, people supporting the Houthis took part in a military parade on Saturday, trampling American, Israeli and British flags.
On January 9, American and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by Yemeni rebels towards ships in the Red Sea, the American military said at the time. According to the United Kingdom, it was the largest attack carried out to date by the Houthis.
In December, the United States announced a maritime security initiative aimed at protecting ships in the Red Sea against attacks by the Houthis, who forced commercial ships to turn away from this route through which 12% of the world normally passes. International trade.
Since January, the United States and the United Kingdom have also launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, but the rebels have continued their attacks.