Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Gulf Yemen

US shoots down multiple drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen

Houthis warn Israel allies shipping in Bab Al Mandab Strait ‘legitimate target’



A picture taken during an organised tour by Yemen's Houthi rebels on November 22, 2023 shows the group's minister of information, Dhaifallah Al Shami (4th left), inspecting the Galaxy Leader Cargo ship, seized by militants two days earlier, whiled docked at a port on the Red Sea in Yemen's province of Hodeida with the Palestinian (left) and Yemeni flags in the background. The Bahamas-flagged, British-owned Galaxy Leader, operated by a Japanese firm but having links to an Israeli businessman, was headed from Turkey to India when it was seized and re-routed to Hodeida November 19, according to maritime security company Ambrey.
Image Credit: AFP

Sana’a: The United States shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen on Thursday morning local time, US Central Command said on X.

“The drones were shot down while the US warship was on patrol in the Red Sea. The ship and crew sustained no damage or injury,” the post said.

Also read

The Iran-backed Al Houthi rebels warned allies of Israel on Wednesday that their shipping in the Bab Al Mandab Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea is a “legitimate target”.

The warning comes after Al Houthis on Sunday seized an Israel-linked cargo vessel, opening a new dimension in the Gaza war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Advertisement

Helicopter-borne troops seized the Galaxy Leader and its 25 international crew days after the Huthis threatened to target Israeli shipping because of the war.

The ship had been chartered by a Japanese group, and was flying the flag of the Bahamas.

A photographer who collaborates with AFP said the Galaxy Leader was anchored at the rebel-controlled Hodeida port in northwest Yemen and was closely guarded.

It was now flying the Yemeni and Palestinian flags.

Al Houthis have declared themselves part of the “axis of resistance” of Iran’s allies and proxies, and have also launched a series of drones and missiles towards Israel.

Advertisement

A video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Al Houthi military media showed the commander of the rebels’ naval forces, General Mohammad Fadl Abdul Nabi, aboard the captured vessel.

“Allies of the Zionist enemy who ensure passage through Bab Al Mandab are also considered to be a legitimate target,” he said of the choke-point at the foot of the commercially vital Red Sea.

“We say to the Zionist entity that Bab Al Mandab is a red line... Every civilian or military (Israel-affiliated) ship is considered a legitimate target,” he added.

The vital seaway is a narrow strait between Yemen and Djibouti through which a significant portion of the world’s maritime traffic passes.

One of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, it carries about a fifth of global oil consumption.

Advertisement

Specialist website Marine Traffic said the Galaxy Leader, a car transporter, was off the Saudi port of Jeddah on Saturday when its radar signature disappeared.

Israel’s military on Sunday said the seizure was a “very grave incident of global consequence”, and a US military official said it was “a flagrant violation of international law”.

Israel said the ship had sailed from Turkey bound for India, and that there no Israelis on board.

On Monday the Houthis released a video purporting to show Sunday’s seizure.

The footage showed masked armed men jumping onto the ship from a helicopter while the vessel was still moving, and holding crew members at gunpoint.

Advertisement

“We will undertake combat missions until the Zionist entity stops attacking Gaza,” Al Houthi general said in the latest video footage on X.

Advertisement