Houthis say they have carried out three military operations against vessels of U.S., U.K., and Israel
The United States have observed an increase in the number of attacks conducted by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over the last three days, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Thursday.
Singh made the remarks when asked about the number of US commercial and military vessels damaged or rendered inoperable by Houthi attacks, and whether the Yemeni movement had ramped up its attacks.
“Yes, we’ve certainly seen in the past 48-72 hours an increase in attacks from the Houthis, more consistency,” Singh said during a press briefing, while declining to give an exact number of the affected US ships.
Singh pointed out that although the Houthis have carried successful attacks on ships navigating through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, they have also affected their own coasts and population.
By sinking the MV Rubymar, which was carrying about 22 metric tons of fertilizer, off the coast of Yemen, the Houthis have created an “environmental hazard” in their own backyard as the ship’s oil leaks into the sea, Singh said.
Moreover, a US-owned grain carrier which was recently damaged in the Gulf of Aden was carrying grain for the people of Yemen, Singh said.
“They [Houthis] are saying that they’re conducting these attacks against ships that are connected to Israel. These are ships that are literally bringing goods, services, aid to their own people,” Singh said.
The movement’s leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said that as many as 48 vessels have been attacked in the Red and Arabian seas, and 183 drones and rockets have been launched into Israel in the 20 weeks since the start of Houthi military operations.
“As the enemy continues his genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and does not agree to a ceasefire, our operations continue and increase in quantity and quality. The number of operations against enemy vessels increased to 13 in one week, and in 20 weeks of confronting the enemy in the Red and Arabian seas, 48 vessels have been attacked, and 183 drones and missiles have been fired at the enemy entity,” he said in a televised appearance on the Al-Masirah broadcaster.
The Houthi leader also said the Houthis’ armed forces have carried out over 1,100 military drills, parades and marches and trained more than 273,000 fighters over the said period as part of the general mobilization.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Thursday that the movement has carried out three military operations against vessels of the United States and the United Kingdom, and Israel’s Eilat.
The Houthi movement, which controls large parts of northern and western Yemen, vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. This led US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to announce the creation of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. US and UK forces later launched major strikes against Houthi positions in a bid to degrade the rebels’ ability to target commercial vessels.
Alex Jones reveals that taking the COVID-19 injection may make your blood useless to the Red Cross.
