US forces destroy two Huthi sites in Yemen

WASHINGTON (AFP): American forces destroyed two sites in Yemen belonging to the Huthi rebels, the US military said Wednesday, after a series of ship attacks in recent days by the group.

The Huthis 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 Huthi-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 Huthi “uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in the Red Sea.”

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

Meanwhile a merchant ship, the MV Tutor, which was left abandoned and drifting after at attack by Huthis 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 Huthis, 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.