The United States announced that it had carried out a new strike on Monday February 5 against the equipment of the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The army led “a self-defense strike against two naval surface drones loaded with explosives” around 3:30 p.m. local time, the U.S. Middle East Command (Centcom) said. on the social network.
American forces have “identified” these small unmanned ships in “areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis” and felt that they represented “an imminent threat to U.S. naval vessels and merchant ships”he added, repeating the words generally used after each keystroke.
In addition, a British ship traveling in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen was targeted by a drone attack on Tuesday morning. THE “port side” of this cargo ship flying the flag of Barbados suffered “minor damage” during this attack, according to Ambrey, a security company specializing in international maritime transport. According to the British Maritime Safety Agency (UKTMO), a window of the cargo ship was ” slightly “ damaged by a drone strike above the ship which was then located 57 nautical miles, or approximately 105 kilometers, west of Hodeida, a large port on the west coast of Yemen and under Houthi control.
American forces are increasing operations in Yemen and off the coast of this country at war, saying they are acting to protect navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden from attacks by the Houthis, who say they are thus supporting the Palestinians in Gaza besieged and bombarded by Israel for almost four months.
Antony Blinken visits the Middle East
On Sunday, American forces announced that they had carried out airstrikes against five missiles in Yemen, the day after a wave of American-British air raids in the country in response to attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Supported by Iran, the bane of the United States, the Houthi rebels control a large part of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against the Yemeni government. While the Houthis say they are attacking ships linked according to them to Israel, of which the United States is the main military supporter, other pro-Iran armed groups have increased attacks in recent weeks against American interests in the region. .
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East trying to reach a truce in the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which is in the grip of a major humanitarian crisis. He began this fifth regional tour in Saudi Arabia on Monday since the start of the conflict, which will take him on Tuesday to Egypt and Qatar, two mediator countries alongside Washington, before going to Israel and the occupied West Bank.