US military shoots down three unprovoked Houthi attack drones near several commercial ships sailing in the Red Sea
Iran in Yemen The Houthi-backed group has been targeting the shipments for months, and attacks by the US and UK continue despite repeated attacks. File. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis have been attacking ships for months, and attacks continue despite repeated attacks by the United States and Britain.
On February 23, the US military announced that it had shot down three attack drones and destroyed seven ground-based anti-ship cruise missiles near merchant ships in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been attacking ships for months, following repeated U.S. and British attacks aimed at disrupting the rebels’ ability to threaten key global trade routes. Nevertheless, attacks continue. Early Friday morning, U.S. forces “downed three Houthi exploratory attack drones near several commercial ships sailing in the Red Sea.
There were no damages to the ships,” Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media. In a statement later that day, Centcom said the U.S. military “destroyed seven Iranian-backed Houthi mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that were preparing to launch into the Red Sea.” The strike reportedly took place from 12:30pm to 5:30pm and 7:15 p.m. Sanaa time was in self-defense. “CENTCOM forces have identified these missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they pose an imminent threat to commercial and U.S. naval vessels in the region,” the statement said.
The previous day, US forces attacked four Houthi drones and two anti-ship cruise missiles, adding that the weapons were “ready to be launched from Houthi-held areas in Yemen into the Red Sea.”. The Houthis launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea in November, announcing they would attack Israeli-linked vessels supporting Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.
U.S and U.K forces counterattacked with attacks against the Houthis, who also subsequently declared US and UK interests as legitimate targets. Anger over Israel’s devastating campaign in Gaza, which began after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, has grown across the Middle East, fueling violence between Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.