New attack by the Houthis in the Red Sea and a US announcement of destroying missiles and drones
Yemen Monitor/ News Room
The armed Houthi group announced on Friday that they targeted an Israeli ship and an American destroyer in the Red Sea with missiles and drones, while the US military announced the destruction of 9 ballistic missiles and two drones.
The military spokesperson for the group, Yahya Saree, stated that “the naval forces of his group carried out an operation targeting the Israeli ship “Pacific 01″ in the Red Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles.”
He added that “our air force carried out an operation targeting a US destroyer in the Red Sea with a number of drones, and the operation achieved its objectives successfully.”
The spokesperson confirmed “expanding the operations against Israeli ships or those affiliated with Israel or heading to the occupied Palestinian ports including the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope.”
Earlier, the UK Maritime Trade Operations and Ambrey Maritime Security Company stated that a commercial cargo ship was subjected to missile shelling 76 nautical miles west of the Yemeni city of Hodeidah.
The organization mentioned that the shelling caused damage to the ship, but its crew was unharmed, and reported that the ship sailed to another port.
The organization, managed by the British Royal Forces, also reported that another ship, sailing 50 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, reported the flight of two missiles above it before exploding at a distance.
The ship’s captain informed the relevant authorities of the passage of the missiles above the ship and hearing two explosions at a distance, confirming that the incident did not cause any damage to the ship and its crew.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early on Friday the destruction of 9 anti-ship ballistic missiles and two drones that Ansar Allah (the Houthis) were about to launch from areas under their control in Yemen, according to the statement.
CENTCOM stated in its statement that it destroyed these weapons after the Houthis launched 4 anti-ship ballistic missiles, two of which landed in the Gulf of Aden and the other two in the Red Sea, without causing any damage.
On Thursday, the Houthi group announced that they would prevent ships associated with the “Israel” from crossing through the Indian Ocean to Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. This announcement came in a televised speech by the group’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, representing a new escalation in Houthi attacks on navigation of ships concentrated in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Al-Houthi said, “We will prevent ships associated with the enemy (Israeli, British, and American) from crossing from the Indian Ocean to Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.” He revealed that his group targeted 73 ships and barges of the enemy since the start of its operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in November 2023.
This comes one day after a statement issued by the embassies of the US, Britain, Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand in Yemen, calling the Houthi group to stop their attacks in the Red Sea, considering that they “only serve to disturb the stability of the region and harm the Yemeni people.”
Since November last year, the Houthis have continued their attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while the US and Britain have targeted Houthi targets in Yemen, and re-listed the group on the list of terrorist organizations, due to their attacks against commercial ships.
