US forces destroy two Houthi sites in Yemen

Sailors from the Dwight D Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group helped distressed mariners at sea in the Red Sea, on June 15, 2024. [AFP]

American forces destroyed two sites in Yemen belonging to the Houthi rebels, the US military said Wednesday, after a series of ship attacks in recent days by the group.

The Houthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in attacks they say are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The United States and Britain have carried out strikes in Yemen aimed at degrading the Iran-backed rebels' ability to carry out the attacks, while there is also an international military effort to intercept drones and missiles fired at ships.

"USCENTCOM forces successfully destroyed one ground control station and one command and control node" in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, the military command said in a statement on X.

It added that in the past 24 hours, CENTCOM forces had additionally destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi "uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in the Red Sea."

On Tuesday, CENTCOM reported that it had destroyed eight drones belonging to the Houthis.

Meanwhile, a merchant ship, the MV Tutor, which was left abandoned and drifting after an attack by Houthis last week, was believed to have sunk, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported late Tuesday.

The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned and -operated bulk carrier was hit by a remote-controlled sea drone and an aerial projectile on June 12, killing a Filipino crew member.

The Houthis, who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition after ousting the government from Sanaa in 2014, have launched scores of drone and missile attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November.

The attacks have sent insurance costs spiraling for vessels transiting the Red Sea and prompted many shipping firms to take the far longer passage around the southern tip of Africa instead.