WASHINGTON: The United States military announced on Thursday that it had intercepted and destroyed 11 drones belonging to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The action came in response to claims by the Houthis that they had targeted Israeli and American vessels near the Gulf of Aden.
According to the US Central Command’s statement on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), American forces downed three drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas on Wednesday morning. Later the same day, they intercepted and neutralized eight additional drones.
The US military emphasized that these drones posed an imminent threat to US, coalition, and merchant ships operating in the region. The acronym “UAVs” was used in the statement to refer to unmanned aerial vehicles.
In a separate statement, the Houthis asserted that their attacks had successfully targeted two Israeli ships, an American commercial vessel, and a US warship using naval missiles and drones.
The Houthi have intensified their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November. These actions have prompted retaliatory strikes by the United States against Houthi targets within Yemen.
The Houthis claim that their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Despite the formation of a multinational coalition by the United States in December to safeguard maritime traffic, these recent attacks by the Houthis highlight ongoing challenges in preventing such incidents.
