The ruling Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement in northern Yemen announced a strike on two American destroyers in the Red Sea using anti-ship missiles and drones in response to the “aggression of Great Britain and the United States” against Yemen.
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“Yemen’s navy, missile forces and air force… carried out a unique military operation in which they attacked two American destroyers in the Red Sea. The operation was carried out with several anti-ship missiles and drones,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria wrote on the social network X.
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He added that the Houthis could expand operations against targets hostile to them, noting that Houthi military operations would continue until “the aggression (against the Palestinians) ceases and the siege on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
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The Ansar Allah movement, which controls much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, had previously warned of its intention to attack any ships linked to Israel, calling on other countries to recall their crews and not approach them at sea. A number of shipping companies have decided to suspend transportation through the Red Sea.
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The Houthis have said their actions in the Red Sea are aimed at helping Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and they have argued that they are not interfering with freedom of navigation in the region. Arab and Muslim countries have repeatedly warned the United States that unconditional support for Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip will lead to the spread of the conflict throughout the region.
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The US and UK have been carrying out strikes on Houthi targets since mid-January, calling it a response to threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of Ansar Allah’s highest political council, called the attacks a terrorist barbarity and deliberate and unjustified aggression.
