The American army announced on Wednesday February 1 a series of military operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen who threaten navigation in the Red Sea, claiming to have destroyed more than a dozen attack drones, missiles and a post of command.
On Wednesday at around 8:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. GMT), "Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched an anti-ship ballistic missile from areas they control in Yemen towards the Gulf of Aden. The missile was shot down by the USS Carney,” the US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) announced in a statement. Less than an hour later, this same destroyer “shot down three Iranian drones” which were “near” it, Centcom added, without specifying whether these machines were armed or not.
And in the evening, Centcom again announced that American strikes had destroyed ten attack drones and a Houthi command post in Yemen, which “constituted an imminent threat to American merchant ships and military vessels in the region” .
Background to the Gaza War
Earlier on Wednesday, the US military also said it had destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile ready to be fired from Yemen. This surface-to-air missile threatened American aircraft, justified Centcom, which did not specify what type of aircraft could have been targeted by the Houthis.
In recent weeks, these rebels close to Iran who control a large part of Yemen have mainly been talked about for attacks targeting merchant ships or warships in the Red Sea, against the backdrop of the war between Israel and the movement. Palestinian Islamist Hamas in Gaza. They claimed on Wednesday to have targeted an American ship, the USS Gravely.
Other pro-Iranian armed groups have attacked American bases in Iraq and Syria in recent months. One of these drone attacks on Sunday cost the lives of three American soldiers in Jordan, on the Syrian border. Washington attributed it to the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq", a nebula of fighters from these pro-Iran armed groups. Tehran has denied any involvement.
The United States and Iran have repeatedly reiterated that they are not seeking an “escalation” of tensions in the Middle East, in the context of the war in Gaza.
More than 35 attacks
Also off the coast of Yemen, the British maritime security company Ambrey reported that a missile fired from Yemen had hit a merchant ship. "According to our information, a merchant ship was targeted by a 'missile' while it was cruising (...) off the coast of Aden, in Yemen," Ambrey said, adding that "the ship reported an explosion" on board. “Ambrey learned that this missile had been fired (...) from Taiz”, a province in southern Yemen, added the firm.
The Houthis have carried out more than 35 attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19, according to the US Department of Defense. Since November, they have said they have targeted ships linked to Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Impact on international trade
The United States, Israel's main ally, deployed warships to the Red Sea and carried out several strikes in January against Houthi positions, sometimes jointly with the United Kingdom. Since then, the Houthis have also considered ships linked to the United States or the United Kingdom as targets.
These attacks from Yemen have a significant impact on international trade, up to 12% of which passes through this essential area. Maritime transport of containers through the Red Sea has fallen by almost 30% over one year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Wednesday.
The United States, which has placed the Houthis on a list of “terrorist” entities, has established an international maritime coalition to “protect” international trade in this crucial area.
With AFP
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