Illustrative image.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on September 20 that its forces destroyed a drone that was launched from an area controlled by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen a day earlier.
The drone “presented an imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” the command said in a statement, adding that its forces took action “to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels.”
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a detachment of the Royal Navy, reported an incident 45 nautical miles south of the Yemeni coastal town of Mokha.
The master of a ship reported an uncrewed boat with a blue and white hull about half a nautical mile away at the location of the flagged incident, according to the agency.
“The boat was acting unpredictably before moving away from the area,” UKMTO cited the ship’s master as saying.
The ship and crew are safe, the agency said in its advisory notice, adding that authorities were investigating the incident near Yemen.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have attacked dozens of vessels affiliated with Israel or owned by the U.S. and the U.S. in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea since last November in response to the Israeli war on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the group launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel and shot down at least ten American-made combat drones over Yemen and nearby waters.
The U.S. and the UK have carried out hundreds of strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen since January. Israel also launched an unprecedented attack against the Red Sea port of al-Hodeidah last July after a deadly Houthi drone strike on the city of Tel Aviv.
The strikes on Yemen have so far claimed the lives of more than 50 people, including civilians, and left over 200 others wounded. Nevertheless, the military campaign failed to deter the Houthis or degrade their military capabilities.
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us code for things they hit, drone means church, missile means church and cruise missile means hospital!