Cairo: UAE forces, part of an Arab Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-allied Al Houthis in Yemen, destroyed a boat loaded with explosives near the country’s western coast, the official agency WAM reported on Tuesday.

The boat belonging to Al Houthi militants was being used to carry out terrorist operations in a major navigation route in the Red Sea, the agency added.

The Iran-aligned extremists have repeatedly threatened to attack oil tankers using Bab Al Mandab, a vital waterway between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa, linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal.

Last month, the Arab Coalition unleashed a massive offensive dubbed Golden Victory aimed at driving Al Houthis out of the Red Sea city of Hodeida in west Yemen.

The campaign, the biggest in Yemen’s three-year-old war, has been temporarily halted in support of UN efforts to restart long-stalled peace talks and avert an all-out battle in Hodeida.

Al Houthis are believed to have taken advantage of the pause to replenish their military arsenal and ramp up their violations against civilians.

The UAE forces linked to the Coalition also intercepted and downed two drones carrying explosives, WAM reported on Tuesday.

Both Iranian Qasef-1 drones were aimed at Yemeni forces loyal to the internationally recognised government supported by the coalition in the coastal city of Al Mokha, and a densely populated area in the district of Al Khokha, WAM added.

The aborted attacks were planned by Al Houthis to make up for the military setbacks they have recently suffered in the West Coast area, according to observers.

Hodeida is strategically important because its harbour is considered a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, as most of the commercial imports and relief supplies enter through it to the country.

Al Houthis have been in control of Hodeida since their late 2014 coup against the legitimate government of Yemen’s President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The Coalition accuses Al Houthis of taking advantage of their control of Hodeida port to obtain weapons from their Iranian patrons as well as confiscate aid intended for Yemenis in order to sustain their war efforts.

In 2015, the Saudi–led alliance started a military campaign in Yemen after Al Houthis advanced on the southern city of Aden, the temporary seat of the internationally recognised government, after the militants overran the capital Sana’a months earlier.