Yemen Monitor/Newsroom
The US Central Command has announced its successful destruction of a Houthi missile system in an area controlled by the group in Yemen over the past 24 hours.
In a statement late Tuesday/early Wednesday, Central Command indicated that “this system posed an imminent threat to US forces, coalition forces, and commercial shipping in the region.”
It noted that “this action was taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer for US vessels, coalition forces, and commercial ships.”
Since November, the Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea linked to Israel, the US, and the UK. By the end of August, the Yemeni group claimed to have targeted 182 vessels.
In February, the EU launched a military operation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden named “Aspides,” aimed at combating increasing security threats in the Red Sea, enhancing freedom of navigation, and supporting regional stability in response to the Houthis’ repeated attacks on commercial vessels, which disrupted trade and raised commodity prices.
Since the end of last year, the Houthis have targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and recently expanded their operations into the Indian Ocean. They claimed to be targeting ships linked to Israel, which is conducting a brutal attack on Gaza Strip. However, the Yemeni government and experts suggest that the Houthis’ targets are local, aimed at escaping internal crises and improving their image in the region.
In response, the US and Britain have been conducting airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi group since January 11. As a result, the Houthis announced an expansion of their operations to include US and British vessels.
