The US military destroyed drones and cruise missiles on Monday of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, announced the joint command of the US armed forces responsible for the Middle East region (CENTCOM, “central command”).

US forces destroyed “three remotely piloted unmanned surface vessels, a mobile anti-surface cruise missile launch system and a one-way remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle” that were respectively preparing to launch against ships in the Red Sea and were over the Red Sea, the statement said. CENTCOM via X (formerly Twitter).

Drones and missile systems, spotted in rebel-held areas, posed an “imminent threat” to its merchant ships and vessels of the US Navy in the region, the post added, using the now standard terminology for such operations.

The Houthis, who control almost all of northern Yemen, have been launching attacks since November 19 against merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, especially those they say are “connected” to Israel, in a show of “solidarity” with the Palestinians in Gaza Strip, in the middle of the Israel/Hamas war.

To counter the attacks, the US, Israel’s main ally, formed a multinational coalition in December to “protect” shipping in the strategic maritime area. And, since mid-January, the US and British armed forces have launched a series of bombings in Yemen against Houthi positions and weapons, which for their part now describe US and British ships as “legitimate targets”.

Neither the coalition, nor the bombings against Houthi positions and weapons systems in Yemen have stopped the attacks of the Yemeni rebels, who are considered close to Iran.