American and British military forces successfully intercepted over 20 drones and missiles launched by Yemen’s Huthi rebels over the Red Sea, marking what London has termed the “most substantial assault” to date by the Iran-supported insurgents.
In the latest military intervention in the Red Sea on Tuesday, the collective forces of Western allies, comprising warships and planes, neutralized 18 drones and three missiles, as confirmed by the US military.
Following the event, the Huthis declared they had targeted a US ship with a “substantial number” of missiles and drones, opting not to disclose the specifics of when and where this occurred.
British destroyer HMS Diamond took decisive action, deploying both its guns and Sea Viper missiles to intervene against drones that were “closing in on her and commercial vessels in the vicinity,” announced UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
One week later, the Huthis are confronted with consequences as 12 nations, headed by the United States, warned them unequivocally to immediately cease firing on commercial vessels in the vital international shipping corridor.
The Huthis claim they are directing their attacks towards Israeli-linked vessels in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid ongoing conflict with the militant group Hamas.
‘Overnight, HMS Diamond, along with US warships, successfully repelled the largest attack from the Iranian-backed Huthis in the Red Sea to date,’ Shapps said in a statement.
Shapps later said on Sky News that there was “no doubt at all Iran is guiding what is happening there in the Red Sea”, providing Huthis with equipment and intelligence to enable the attacks.
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“Enough is enough,” said Shapps.
‘We must be clear with the Huthis that this has to stop and that is my simple message to them today: Watch this space.’
The Huthis orchestrated a sophisticated attack, as per the US Central Command (CENTCOM), utilizing Iranian-designed one-way attack UAVs. Additionally, they fired anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship ballistic missile from Huthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
A combination of F/A-18 warplanes, deployed from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, three American destroyers, and the British naval vessel collaborated to successfully down the UAVs, according to CENTCOM.
Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said, ‘The naval forces, the missile force, and the unmanned air force of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a joint military operation with a large number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones’.
The attack targeted a US ship that was “providing support” to Israel during its war against Hamas, he said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
The current incident is the latest occurrence following the establishment of a multinational naval task force by the US last month, with the primary objective of protecting Red Sea shipping from Huthi attacks. These attacks pose a substantial risk to a transit route facilitating up to 12 percent of global trade.
According to CENTCOM, US forces successfully intercepted a drone originating from Yemen over the weekend, while Vice Admiral Brad Cooper reported that the Huthis deployed an explosives-laden sea drone into shipping lanes last week — marking the first instance of such weaponry used in the ongoing conflict.
The Huthis, exercising control over a significant portion of Yemen, align themselves with the “axis of resistance,” a coalition of groups united against Israel.