Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched their largest ever drone and missile attack targeting shipping in the Red Sea, forcing the US and British navies to shoot down the missiles in a major naval battle, authorities said today.
No damage was immediately reported.
The attack by the Iran-backed Houthis came despite a United Nations (UN) Security Council vote on a plan on Wednesday that would have potentially condemned and demanded an immediate end to attacks by the rebels, who say their attacks are aimed at ending Israel’s war on Hamas in the Peninsula. Gaza. .
However, their targets are increasingly weak – or non-existent – ties with Israel and endangering important trade routes linking Asia and the Middle East to Europe.
That raises the risk of a US counterattack on Yemen that could trigger an uneasy truce held in the Arab world’s poorest country.
A Royal Navy warship shot down 7 drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea on Tuesday night. MOD
The attacks took place in the Yemeni port cities of Hodeida and Mokha, according to private intelligence firm Ambrey.
In the Hodeida attack, Ambrey said ships described by radio saw missiles and drones, with US allied warships in the area urging “ships to proceed at maximum speed.”
Off Mokha, ships saw missiles being fired, drones in the air and small craft following them, Ambrey said earlier Wednesday.
The attack by the Houthis comes despite a plan the United Nations Security Council (UN) voted on Wednesday to potentially condemn and demand an immediate end to attacks by the rebels. MOD
The United Kingdom’s Merchant Marine operation also acknowledged the attack in Hodeida.
The US military’s Central Command said the “complex attack” launched by the Houthis included bomb-carrying drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile.
It said 18 drones, two cruise missiles and an anti-ship missile were shot down by F-18s from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as by the American Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Gravely, USS Laboon and USS Mason, as well as HMS Diamond. United Kingdom.
The attacks took place in the Yemeni port cities of Hodeida and Mokha, according to private intelligence firm Ambrey. MOD
“This is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since November 19,” Central Command said. “No injuries or damage were reported.”
“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity,” UKTMO added.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps described the attack as “the largest attack by the Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date,” saying Diamond used Sea Viper missiles and guns to shoot down several drones.
“The UK and its allies have previously made it clear that this illegal attack is completely unacceptable and if it continues the Houthis will bear the consequences,” Shapps said in a statement. “We will take the necessary actions to protect innocent lives and the global economy.”
The Houthis, the Shiite group that has controlled the Yemeni capital since 2014, has not officially acknowledged launching the attack.
However, pan-Arab satellite news network Al Jazeera quoted an unidentified Houthi military official as saying their forces “targeted ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea,” without elaborating.
The launch now raises the risk of a US counterattack on Yemen. Houthi movement via Getty Images
The Houthis said their attack was aimed at ending Israeli air and ground strikes targeting the Gaza Strip amid the country’s war against Hamas.
However, the relationship with the ships targeted in the insurgent attacks has become weaker as the attacks continue.
The Red Sea connects the Middle East and Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal, and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
So far, the Houthis have not officially acknowledged launching the attack. via REUTERS
The strait is only 18 miles wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Almost 10% of all oil traded at sea passes through it. An estimated $1 trillion in goods pass through the strait each year.
A draft U.S. resolution before the U.N. Security Council, obtained late Tuesday by The Associated Press, said the Houthi attacks impeded global trade “and undermined the rights and freedom of navigation and regional peace and security.”
A man holds a picture of Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, as supporters gather to commemorate ten Houthi fighters killed by the US Navy in the Red Sea, in Sanaa, Yemen January 5, 2024. REUTERS
The resolution would demand the immediate release of the first ship attacked by the Houthis, the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated cargo ship linked to an Israeli company that it seized in November along with its crew.
An early draft of the resolution would recognize “the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to take appropriate measures to defend their merchant ships and navies.”
The final draft was weaker, removing any UN recognition of a nation’s right to defend its ships. On the other hand, it will confirm that the right of navigation and freedom of merchant and commercial ships must be respected, and take into account “the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to defend their ships from attacks, including those affecting the right of navigation. and freedom.”
A coalition of countries led by the US has been patrolling the Red Sea to try and deter attacks. American forces in one conflict sank a Houthi ship and killed 10 rebel fighters.
“Let our message now be clear: we call for an immediate end to these illegal attacks and the release of the illegally detained ships and crew,” the country said last Wednesday. “The Houthis will bear the consequences if they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and the free flow of trade on critical waterways in the region.”
A Houthi soldier stands guard during a demonstration commemorating ten Houthi fighters killed by the US Navy in the Red Sea. ZUMAPRESS.com
There has been no widespread counterattack yet, despite warnings from the US. However, Tuesday’s attack appeared to test the response, if any, to come from Washington.
Meanwhile, a separate tentative ceasefire between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen’s exiled government has been held for months despite the country’s long war.
That raised fears that any wider conflict at sea – or a possible retaliatory strike from Western forces – could reignite those tensions in the Arab world’s poorest country. It may also draw Iran, which has so far largely avoided directly entering the wider Israeeeel-Hamas war, further into the conflict.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
