The US military said it was responding to a large-scale attack by Iranian-linked groups that posed an “imminent threat.”
US Navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 drones launched by Yemen's Iranian-allied Houthis in the Red Sea region.
The U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that a U.S.-led naval coalition was launched into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. by “Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists.” announced that it was responding to a large-scale attack (01:00 to 03:30 GMT).
The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) posed an “immediate threat to commercial vessels, U.S. Navy and coalition vessels in the region,” the military said on X news agency.
“These measures are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make the high seas safer and more secure.”
US and coalition forces defeat Houthi attack in Red Sea region
Between 4:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists carried out a large-scale unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM and coalition forces have identified a one-way… pic.twitter.com/PJag5PYUfZ
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 9, 2024
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Salih said on Saturday that the group carried out two military operations, the first of which targeted the US bulk carrier Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden.
In the second operation, several US destroyers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden were targeted by “37 unmanned aircraft,” Salih claimed.
At least three sailors were killed in a Houthi missile attack on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. military said this week, since the Yemeni group launched attacks on ships in one of the world's busiest sea lanes. , was the first reported death. Regarding Israel's war in Gaza.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday, which set the Liberian-owned, Barbados-registered ship True Confidence ablaze about 50 nautical miles (93 kilometers) off the coast of Yemen's Aden port.
A U.S.-led naval coalition has been operating in the area since December 2023, seeking to counter Houthi attacks. The U.S. military also carried out strikes on suspected Houthi weapons sites in Yemen, including a truck-mounted anti-ship missile attack on Thursday.
Despite a series of airstrikes against Houthi targets by American and British forces, the group, which controls Yemen's most populous areas, remains capable of launching large-scale attacks.
These include last month's attack on the Rubimar, a cargo ship loaded with fertilizer that sank on Saturday after being adrift for several days, and the downing of a U.S.-made drone worth tens of millions of dollars.
Yemen's Houthi fighters have repeatedly fired drones and missiles at international commercial ships since mid-November, disrupting global commerce along the shipping route, which accounts for about 15% of global shipping traffic. Companies are being forced to reroute to longer, more expensive routes around southern Africa. .
