The U.S. military said on Thursday that it had destroyed four unmanned aerial systems fired by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, which were targeting a U.S. warship and a coalition vessel in the Red Sea.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that it shot down the drones in self-defense over the Red Sea between 6 p.m. and 10:56 p.m. (local time) on March 28, marking the second consecutive day of such incidents.
The day prior, CENTCOM said that its troops had destroyed four long-range unmanned aerial systems launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen, which were targeting a U.S. warship in the Red Sea.
“It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region,” the U.S. military stated in a press release.
“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels,” it added.
US Launches Strikes Against Houthi Weapons Storage Facilities
These incidents occurred less than a week after CENTCOM forces conducted self-defense strikes against three Houthi underground storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on March 22.
CENTCOM, the combatant command in charge of U.S. military operations throughout the Middle East, found that the facilities “presented a threat to U.S. and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region.”
“These strikes targeted capabilities used by the Houthis to threaten and attack naval ships and merchant vessels in the region,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
“Illegal Houthi attacks have killed three mariners, sunk a commercial vessel lawfully transiting the Red Sea, disrupted humanitarian aid bound for Yemen, harmed Middle East economies, and caused environmental damage,” it added.
On the same day, between 4:22 a.m. and 11:10 p.m. (local time), U.S. armed forces engaged and destroyed four unmanned aerial vehicles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in self-defense.
“During this timeframe, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Red Sea. There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships,” CENTCOM stated.
For months, Houthi terrorists have harassed international shipments with drone and missile attacks. They insisted these attacks are targeting vessels associated with Israel and its allies and are in response to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Most of these Houthi attacks on international merchant crews have missed their marks or been intercepted, though a few have caused damage to vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden and adjoining Red Sea shipping lanes.
The U.S. government has intermittently characterized the Houthis as a terrorist organization. The Yemeni faction was listed as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and as a specially designated global terrorist entity (SDGT) in the final days of President Donald Trump’s presidency in January 2021. President Joe Biden’s administration revoked the terrorism labels in February of 2021 but reapplied the SDGT designation against the group in January as the Houthi attacks on maritime traffic continued.
