The US said it shot down six Houthi rebel attack drones in Yemen in the Red Sea on Thursday with the support of an allied ship.
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“Between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Sanaa time on February 22, U.S. aircraft and a coalition military ship shot down six Iran-backed Houthi explosive attack drones in the Red Sea,” the U.S. military command said. United Middle East, Centcom, in a statement.
Centcom identified the drones as “likely aimed at U.S. and coalition military vessels and posed an imminent threat,” it added.
Centcom's press release did not specify the nationality of the coalition ship, but the French Navy had previously announced that one of its frigates had destroyed two drones coming from Yemen on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
The American command further states that “between 8:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. (Sanaa time), the Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from southern Yemen into the Gulf of Aden.”
“The missiles hit the MV Islander, a Palau-flagged British cargo ship, causing minor injuries and property damage,” Centcom explains, confirming information from maritime security companies.
Since November, the Houthis have been carrying out attacks off Yemen on ships they believe are linked to Israel. They claim to be acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a bloody war against Hamas in retaliation for that Palestinian Islamist movement's unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7.
In light of the Houthi attacks, the United States established a multinational maritime defense force called Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea in December and, with the help of the United Kingdom, launched attacks in Yemen against the Houthis. The latter have now expanded their attacks to include ships with connections to the United States or the United Kingdom.
The European Union announced on Monday the launch of its own marine protection mission, which will last one year and may be extendable.