Houthi army helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photograph launched on Nov. 20, 2023.
Houthi Military Media | Via Reuters
Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched recent attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, whereas the U.S. carried out strikes in opposition to targets in Iraq, amid fears that the war in the Gaza Strip might engulf the Middle East.
The U.S. military carried out retaliatory strikes against three installations in Iraq linked to Kataib Hezbollah on Monday, the Pentagon introduced, after three American service personnel had been injured in a one-way drone assault carried out by the Iran-aligned militant group.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin mentioned in an announcement that there’s “no increased precedence” than the safety of American troops and pursuits.
“While we don’t search to escalate conflict in the area, we’re dedicated and absolutely ready to take additional essential measures to defend our folks and our services,” Austin added.
The Iraqi authorities criticized the U.S. strikes as “an unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty” and emphasised that attacks by armed teams in opposition to army bases that home U.S-led coalition advisers are deemed to be hostile acts and violate Iraqi sovereignty, a authorities assertion mentioned, in accordance to Reuters
Tensions continued to stoke in the Red Sea. On Tuesday, Houthi militants, additionally backed by Iran, launched a recent drone assault in opposition to a container ship operated by MSC that was heading for Pakistan.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a focusing on operation in opposition to the business ship, ‘MSC UNITED,’ with acceptable naval missiles,” Yahya Sare’e, spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, mentioned in a put up on the X social media platform.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm their continued help and solidarity with the Palestinian folks in in line with their spiritual, ethical and humanitarian obligation.”
The U.S. Central Command additionally introduced on the social media platform {that a} U.S. destroyer and F/A-18 fighter jets shot down 12 assault drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land assault cruise missiles that had been fired by Houthi militants over the southern Red Sea throughout a 10-hour interval on Tuesday. There was no injury to ships in the space or reported accidents, the Pentagon mentioned.
Drone and missile attacks by the militant group in current weeks have upended shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, a slim waterway by way of which some 10% of the world’s commerce sails.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm the continuation of their operations in the Red and Arab Seas in opposition to Israeli ships or these heading to the ports of occupied Palestine till the meals and medication enter to Gaza Strip,” Sare’e added. The Houthis have beforehand cited solidarity with the Palestinian trigger.
Analysts have beforehand warned of the threat of the Israel-Hamas conflict spreading into the broader Middle East, amid hostilities from Iranian-backed teams resembling Hezbollah, Houthi and Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian administration.