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The severed communications cables reportedly ran under the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia to Djibouti
Several undersea communications cables have been severed in the Red Sea, affecting 25% of data traffic between Asia and Europe, according to a telecommunications company and a U.S. official.
Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications said it had taken measures to reroute traffic after four of the 15 cables were recently cut.
The cause is not yet clear.
The U.S. official said they were trying to determine whether the cables were intentionally cut or caught by an anchor.
Last month, Yemen's internationally recognized government warned that the Iran-backed Houthi movement could sabotage submarine cables in addition to attacks on ships at sea.
The Houthis, who control much of the Red Sea coast in western Yemen, last week denied targeting telegrams and blamed U.S. and British military strikes for the damage inflicted on them.
American and British forces have targeted Houthi weapons and infrastructure in response to drone and missile attacks on merchant ships sailing through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis say their attacks are a sign of support for Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
An estimated 25% of traffic would be affected, she added, noting that about 80% of westbound traffic from Asia passed through the cables.
HGC said it had taken measures to mitigate any disruption to its customers by rerouting data over cables in mainland China to Europe and under the Pacific Ocean to the US, as well as using remaining cables in the Red Sea.
A Pentagon official confirmed to CBS News, the BBC's US affiliate, that undersea telecommunications cables had been cut in the Red Sea.
The official said the U.S. was still trying to determine whether they were intentionally separated or caught by a ship's anchor.
Last week, Israeli business website Globes reported that the same four cables running between the Saudi city of Jeddah and Djibouti had been damaged, blaming the Houthis without providing any evidence. Sky News Arabia, based in the United Arab Emirates, cited unnamed sources who accused the Houthis of “blowing up” the cables.
The Houthis' telecommunications ministry denied these reports.
The ministry said it wanted to reiterate Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi's comments in a recent speech that the group did not want to endanger communications cables.
The decision to “prevent the passage of Israeli ships” through the Red Sea “does not apply to ships of international companies authorized to carry out maritime work on cables in Yemeni waters,” it said.
On Monday, Telecommunications Minister Misfer al-Numair said his ministry was “ready to support applications for permits and identify Yemeni Navy ships,” referring to the Houthis' naval forces.
Meanwhile, US military Central Command said the Houthis fired two anti-ship missiles at a Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned container ship, MSC Sky II, in the Gulf of Aden. One of the missiles hit the ship and caused damage but no injuries, it said.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed the ship was Israeli and would “continue to prevent Israeli shipping or travel to the ports of occupied Palestine.”