Arab coalition destroys 157 Houthi-planted naval mines in Red Sea

Abu Dhabi: The Arab coalition fighting in support of the legitimate Yemeni government said their forces have discovered and destroyed 157 naval mines since the beginning of military operations.

Spokesman Colonel Turki Al Malki said that as part of efforts to maintain the safety of international maritime and commercial lines in the southern Red Sea, a recently planted naval mine was destroyed Sunday.

These include two types of naval mines, planted by the Iranian-backed Al Houthi militia.

Al Malki stressed the continued efforts of the coalition’s joint command forces to deal with the threat of these mines on vital coastal installations, fishing boats, beach goers, commercial vessels and giant oil tankers, and effects of regional and international environmental and economic disasters.

He added these contributions fall in line with the coalition and the international community’s efforts to maintain regional and international security and stability in Bab Al Mandab and the southern Red Sea.

Al Malki said the Houthi militia’s actions threaten the safety of the international maritime and commercial lines of conduct and are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.

He noted that the Iranian-backed militia’s “acts of terrorism and hostility, including the recent cultivation of these naval mines, is conclusive evidence of the urgency to stop this terrorist group for the interest of regional and international security.