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Burning oil tanker in the Red Sea: The Houthi militias repeatedly attack merchant ships off Yemen
Photo: Newscom / EyePress / IMAGO
The US military has apparently once again destroyed several drones and missiles belonging to the militant Islamist Houthis in Yemen. First, US forces hit four drones in the Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen on Friday, according to the responsible US regional command Centcom. During Friday, the US also shot down several Houthi drones over the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to protect commercial ships in the area. There was no damage or injuries.
On Saturday, US forces again knocked out six Houthi rockets in Yemen in an attack, the US regional command said. These were ready to be fired at ships in the Red Sea and therefore also posed a threat.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted merchant ships on the Red Sea since the war between Israel and the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas began in October. The militia is acting in solidarity with Hamas and is directing its attacks off the Yemeni coast on freighters with an alleged Israeli connection - just a few days ago a merchant ship was hit in this way.
One of the most important shipping routes for world trade runs along Yemen, through which freighters from the Indian Ocean reach the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal in Egypt. In response to the attacks, the USA and Great Britain carried out several military strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen. However, their attacks continued.
Since the start of the war in the Middle East, attacks by pro-Iranian militias against US military bases in Iraq and Syria have increased rapidly. Last Sunday, three US soldiers were killed in one of the attacks in Jordan near the Syrian border. The US military responded on Saturday night with extensive air strikes against pro-Iranian militia positions in Iraq and Syria.
spr/dpa