(Washington) American forces announced Monday evening that they had destroyed an underwater drone and anti-ship ballistic missiles in a series of strikes against positions of Yemeni Houthi rebels who threaten to “intensify” their operations in the Red Sea during Ramadan in support for the people of Gaza.
In a statement, the US Middle East Command (CENTCOM) said it had carried out six strikes which “destroyed” this underwater drone and “18 anti-ship ballistic missiles” in areas of Yemen under Houthi control after firing in direction of a ship in the Red Sea.
This ship – the Pinocchio“Singaporean property and flying the flag of Liberia” according to CENTCOM – had reported “a sound of explosion nearby” while it was located southwest of the Yemeni port of Salif, the agency indicated British Maritime Safety Authority UKMTO.
According to the British agency and CENTCOM, the crew is safe and the ship was not damaged.
This attack was claimed during the night by the Houthi rebels who claimed to have “precisely” targeted this ship. And the official Yemeni news agency Saba reported American raids in the Saada sector, located in northern Yemen, under Houthi control.
Since November, the Houthis have increased attacks against merchant and sometimes military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, pushing many shipowners to now avoid these essential passages for international trade.
These insurgents who control large swaths of Yemen and are supported by Iran say they carry out their attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with Hamas after the bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on 7 October on Israeli soil.
In “support” of the population of the Gaza Strip, operations will “intensify” during the month of Ramadan, which began Monday, the Houthis said in a statement overnight.
Israel’s first ally, Washington set up a multinational coalition in December to “protect” maritime traffic without managing to stop the attacks.
Since mid-January, the United States and the United Kingdom have carried out several strikes against rebel positions, who also designated American and British ships as “legitimate targets” after initially claiming to target ships “linked to Israel.”
“Today, we are facing an overflow of violence on the high seas in an uninhibited way, in the Black and Red Sea,” said Monday from the Toulon naval base (south of France) Laurent Saunois, commander of the frigate Languedocwhich had been deployed to the Red Sea.