The Houthis have threatened to escalate their attacks on ships moving off Yemen, after new US and British airstrikes against their positions, which they claim killed 16 people.
The Houthi rebels launched drones and anti-ship missiles again on Friday, following the US-British bombing of their positions in various areas of Yemen, the US military announced.
Four Houthi unmanned aerial systems (UAS) were intercepted — three over the Red Sea, one over the Gulf of Aden — while a fifth drone went down in the sea, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in charge of the Middle East (CENTCOM, “central command”).
Rebels also fired two anti-surface ship missiles (ASBMs) in the direction of the Gulf of Aden, but “no injuries or damage were reported,” CENTCOM added.
Earlier yesterday, the Houthis threatened to escalate their attacks on ships moving off Yemen, following fresh US and British airstrikes on their positions, which they said killed 16 people.
The toll, which AFP could not independently verify, is among the heaviest reported by insurgents close to Iran since US and British forces began pounding their positions in January as part of their efforts to the protection of international navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The joint airstrikes targeted 13 insurgent facilities and were intended to prevent further attacks, CENTCOM said.
Since mid-November, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia Ansar Allah (“Supporters of God”), better known by the family name of its leaders, the Houthis, has launched dozens of missile and drone attacks against commercial and then military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, stressing that it is acting in “solidarity” with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, against the backdrop of the devastating war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas that broke out on October 7.
Both the Houthis and Hamas belong to the so-called “Axis of Resistance”, a loose alliance of organizations hostile to Israel and the US, backed by Tehran.
The US — Israel’s main international ally — formed an international force in December to protect navigation in this strategically important maritime area. The EU also deployed a naval force earlier this year.
Since January, the US armed forces, often in cooperation with those of Britain, have been hitting Houthi weapons systems and facilities in Yemen.
Source :Skai
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