“Yesterday, an MQ-9 did crash in the vicinity of Yemen. That is being investigated, but I don’t have any additional details to share,” Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists.

The Houthis claimed Tuesday that they had shot down three MQ-9s over the past week — a figure Ryder described as “too high.”

The Pentagon spokesman said he could not provide a specific number for security reasons, but that the Houthis’ figure “is not accurate.”

The latest drone crash came after the Pentagon confirmed in February that another MQ-9 — which can be used for both reconnaissance and strikes — went down off the Yemeni coast after apparently being struck by a Houthi missile.

The Houthis — who are opposed to government forces in Yemen and are one of several militant groups arrayed against Israel — began attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November.

They say they are attacking Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war, but ships from multiple countries that have no ties to the conflict have been targeted.

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The ship initially exchanged fire with two small vessels, one with three to five people onboard while the second carried around 10, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.

The ship was later “struck by two unidentified projectiles before being hit by a third,” the agency, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said.

It said there were no reports of casualties but “the vessel reports being not under command,” meaning it was limited in its ability to maneuver, likely because of damage.

Maritime security firm Ambrey also reported an incident off Hodeida but did not elaborate.

There was no immediate claim for the attack but it comes as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels keep up a nine-month-old campaign against international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that they say is in support of Gaza.

Their campaign of rocket and drone attacks has severely disrupted maritime traffic through the Red Sea, which normally accounts for up to 12 percent of world trade.

The United States and Britain have responded by striking Houthi targets in Yemen since January but the attacks have done little to deter the rebels.

The post Vessel off Yemen ‘Struck’ by Three Projectiles: UK Agency appeared first on The Defense Post.

With Saudi Arabia once again seen as a pivotal player for the United States as the Gaza war enters its 10th month, the State Department said it would return to weapons sales “in regular order with appropriate congressional notification and consultation.”

“Saudi Arabia has remained a close strategic partner of the United States, and we look forward to enhancing that partnership,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

President Joe Biden took office in 2021 pledging a new approach to Saudi Arabia that emphasizes human rights and immediately announced that the administration would only send “defensive” weaponry to the longtime US partner.

The step came after thousands of civilians were estimated to be killed in Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen, including children, in a campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have taken over much of the country.

But geopolitical considerations have changed markedly since then. The United Nations, with US support, brokered a truce in early 2022 that has largely held.

Since the truce, “there has not been a single Saudi airstrike into Yemen and cross-border fire from Yemen into Saudi Arabia has largely stopped,” Patel said.

“The Saudis since that time have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours,” Patel said.

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“There has to be a military response to these crimes, which are shameless and dangerous, and constitute a major escalation by the Israeli enemy,” Abdul Malik al-Huthi said in a televised speech.

The Yemeni rebels have been launching drones and missiles at shipping in the Red Sea since November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

Last month, a deadly Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv prompted Israeli air strikes on Hodeida, impoverished Yemen’s lifeline port, that killed nine people and triggered a massive inferno.

The rebel leader described the killing of the Hamas chief as “a flagrant violation of all norms and principles.”

He also condemned the killing of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr on Tuesday in a Beirut strike claimed by Israel.

The post Houthi Rebels Vow ‘Military Response’ After Hamas Chief Killed appeared first on The Defense Post.

The Israeli strike, the first claimed by Israel in Yemen, set oil tanks ablaze at the vital port and came a day after the first fatal attack by the Houthis in Israel.

On Sunday, Israel said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen and struck targets in southern Lebanon. Residents of southern Gaza reported combat in the Rafah area.

The fighting across the region came ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s trip this week to Washington, which has been trying to secure a ceasefire in the more than nine-month war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza.

On Sunday, Netanyahu’s office said he was sending a negotiating team — it was unclear where — for new talks on a deal under which hostages held by Hamas would be freed.

But Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry warned Israel’s attack on Hodeida “aggravates the current tension in the region and halts the ongoing efforts to end the war in Gaza.”

Dozens have been killed since Saturday across Gaza, the civil defense agency in the Hamas-run territory said, including in strikes on homes in the central Nuseirat and Bureij areas and near southern Khan Yunis.

Residents said a major operation was underway in a district west of Rafah, where they reported heavy artillery and clashes.

On Sunday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, chief of the Iran-backed group, said the Hodeida strikes would lead to “further escalation and more attacks targeting Israel.” He said the deadly Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv had opened “a new phase” in operations.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the rebels’ “response to the Israeli aggression against our country is inevitably coming and will be huge.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the fire left raging by the strikes on rebel-held Hodeida port “is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear.”

Gallant warned of further operations if the Houthis “dare to attack us” after the rebel strike hit Tel Aviv, at least 1,800 kilometers (1,119 miles) from Yemen.

It appeared to be the first to pierce Israel’s intricate air defenses, but an analyst said Houthi drones do not pose a “strategic threat” to Israel.

Fuel Storage Tanks

In Hodeida, six people were killed and 83 wounded, health officials said in a statement carried by Houthi media.

AFPTV images showed heavy flames and black smoke spiraling into the sky from burning oil tanks. Debris covered the dock where equipment was damaged.

Hodeida port is a vital entry point for fuel imports and international aid for rebel-held areas of Yemen, a country where the United Nations says more than half the population needs humanitarian assistance.

Analysts say the strike on Hodeida will likely only embolden the Houthis. They have already withstood since January repeated United States and British strikes aimed at deterring recurrent Houthi attacks on shipping.

The rebels also endured thousands of air raids during nearly a decade of war against forces backing Yemen’s internationally-recognized government.

On Sunday, the Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen towards the Red Sea resort town of Eilat. The rebel spokesman said ballistic missiles were fired towards the port.

In Lebanon, Iran-backed and Hamas-allied Hezbollah said it fired Katyusha rockets and drones at northern Israel after Israeli strikes hit a weapons depot and wounded six civilians.

Hezbollah, which reported three more of its fighters killed, said Israel’s strikes on its Yemeni allies marked “a new, dangerous phase.”

Netanyahu to Washington

The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 42 the Israeli military says are dead.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has killed at least 38,983 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza health ministry.

The war has left most of Gaza’s population displaced, much of the housing and other infrastructure destroyed, and essential goods in short supply as the UN says diseases are spreading.

Israel has started vaccinating its troops in Gaza against polio and supplying vaccines for the Palestinian population after health agencies said the virus was found there, the military said.

The war has brought Israelis to the streets, sometimes in their tens of thousands, demanding a deal to free remaining hostages.

On Sunday they protested at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv ahead of Netanyahu’s meetings in the United States where he will be under pressure to reach a ceasefire with Hamas.

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The Houthis have targeted dozens of vessels since November in a campaign they say is intended to show solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war, and has disrupted global shipping.

The latest attack, which took place west of the port city of Hodeida, was carried out using a seaborne improvised explosive device, said United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.

The crew and the vessel were safe and proceeding to the next port of call, said UKMTO, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy.

Ambrey, a maritime risk management group, said earlier “a merchant vessel reported having been ‘hit’ by a projectile” as it headed to the Saudi port of Dammam.

“The vessel was transiting south along the Red Sea when she issued a distress call,” it said.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that the vessel, Seajoy, was targeted with an “uncrewed surface boat and a number of missiles and drones.”

It was targeted for violations of the Houthi “ban” on visiting “the ports of occupied Palestine by the company that owns the ship,” Saree added.

Earlier this week, a missile hit in “close proximity” to a vessel transiting south of the Yemeni port city of Aden, UKMTO said.

The ship proceeded on its journey with no reports of casualties or damage, said the maritime agency.

The Joint Maritime Information Center identified the vessel as the Lila Lisbon, a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged bulk carrier.

“The vessel was not hit and all crew on board are safe,” said the agency overseen by the US Navy.

The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade.

Since January the US and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks.

On Thursday, US military forces destroyed one Houthi radar site in a rebel-run part of Yemen, US Central Command said on social media platform X.

The post Houthi Rebels Claim Attack on Ship off Yemen appeared first on The Defense Post.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have launched dozens of drone and missile strikes into the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, describing them as retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war.

In the last 24 hours, “forces successfully destroyed one uncrewed aerial system” launched over the Red Sea, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post.

It said US forces also destroyed two Houthi uncrewed surface vessels plus “seven Iranian-backed” Houthi radars in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

The radars allowed the Houthis “to target maritime vessels and endanger commercial shipping,” CENTCOM said.

“It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” CENTCOM said in the post.

The rebel attacks have prompted reprisal strikes by US and British forces and the formation of an international coalition to protect the vital shipping lanes through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

The moves come as the Houthi rebels increase attacks on maritime traffic.

On Friday, the crew of the MV Tutor ship was evacuated from the drifting vessel, which was struck by a sea drone on Wednesday.

It was among the surge of attacks this week, one of which badly injured a sailor who was evacuated by US forces from the MV Verbena in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday.

The Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the government the following year.

Yemen’s war has left hundreds of thousands of people dead through fighting or indirect causes such as disease or lack of food, with most of the population dependent on aid.

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The clashes on Wednesday were triggered by a Houthi attack on a frontline area between government-controlled parts of Lahij governorate and Houthi-run parts of Taez province, said Mohammed al-Naqib, a spokesperson for the Southern Transitional Council, a separatist group allied with the government.

The attack came despite a lull in fighting that has largely held since the expiry of a six-month truce brokered by the United Nations in April 2022.

Yemeni government “forces succeeded in repelling the attack, but five soldiers were martyred and others wounded,” Naqib told AFP.

A Houthi military official in Taez told AFP that 13 rebels, including a senior commander, were also killed in the fighting.

Yemen’s internationally-recognised government condemned the Houthi offensive as a “treacherous attack.”

In a statement on social media platform X on Wednesday, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the counterattack by Yemeni government forces “inflicted heavy losses on (Houthi) militia members,” without specifying a toll.

While hostilities have remained low, sporadic fighting has occasionally flared in parts of the country.

In April, a surprise Houthi attack killed 11 fighters loyal to the Yemeni government in Lahij province.

The Houthis seized control of Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year.

Nine years of war have left hundreds of thousands dead through direct and indirect causes, and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

In December, the UN envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said warring parties had committed to a new ceasefire and agreed to engage in a UN-led peace process to end the conflict.

But the peace process has stalled in the wake of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea since November, a campaign the rebels say is meant to signal solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war.

Eryani accused the Houthis of exploiting the Gaza war to amass fighters, weapons, and resources to boost their capabilities on the home front.

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The Houthis have been targeting shipping around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, citing solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been bombarded by Israel since militant group Hamas launched an attack inside Israel on October 7.

AFP journalists heard loud explosions in the capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida overnight from Thursday to Friday.

Strikes also targeted telecoms infrastructure in the town of Taez, the Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah television reported.

Citing health authorities, the TV station said 16 people were killed and more than 35 were wounded in Hodeida alone, without specifying if they were civilians or militants.

The toll reported by Al-Masirah would make the strikes among the deadliest since the United States and Britain launched a campaign in January to counter Houthi attacks off Yemen’s coast.

The channel broadcast a video purporting to depict bloodied men wounded in a strike on a Hodeida radio building.

The footage also showed other victims receiving treatment in a hospital, although AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the images or the death toll.

A hospital employee in Hodeida said many militants were among the killed and wounded but he could not specify an exact figure.

‘Freedom of Navigation’

The British defense ministry said its planes launched strikes in “a joint operation with US forces against Houthi military facilities to degrade their ability to persist with their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”

The ministry said intelligence indicated two sites near Hodeida had been involved in the attacks on shipping, “with a number of buildings identified as housing drone ground control facilities and providing storage for very long-range drones, as well as surface to air weapons.”

Further south, another site “had also been identified as being involved in the command and control of their anti-shipping campaign”, it said in a statement.

The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said 13 Houthi-held sites were targeted.

The strikes were “necessary to protect our forces, ensure freedom of navigation, and make international waters safer and more secure”, it said in a statement.

Since January, the United States and Britain have launched retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the rebels’ attacks in the vital waterways.

In February, the Houthis held a mass funeral in Sanaa for 17 fighters they said were killed in strikes by the United States and United Kingdom.

The attacks have done little to deter the Houthis, who have vowed to target US and British vessels as well as all ships heading to Israeli ports.

The Iran-backed Houthis said Wednesday that they had attacked a Greek-owned bulk carrier and several other vessels in response to Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

The bulk carrier Laax, a Marshall Islands-flagged and Greek-operated vessel, reported being hit by three missiles, according to CENTCOM and maritime security firms. The vessel was damaged but able to continue its voyage.

In March, a ship loaded with fertiliser sank in the Gulf of Aden after it was damaged by missiles fired by the Houthis.

And in November, the rebels seized the vehicle transporter Galaxy Leader and its crew in a helicopter-borne attack.

The Houthi attacks have prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 percent of global trade.

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The Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are acting in support of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war, said the escalation would take effect “immediately.”

It involves “the targeting of all ships that violate the ban (on) Israeli navigation and that head to the ports of occupied Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea in any reachable area within our ample zone,” military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement.

The Houthis, who control large swathes of Yemen including much of its Red Sea coast, have launched scores of drone and missile attacks on shipping since November.

Their campaign has prompted US and British reprisal attacks and the formation of an international naval coalition to protect the vital trade route.

With Israel’s Mediterranean ports lying about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from northern Yemen, it is unclear how much of a threat the Houthis will pose.

The Houthi arsenal includes ballistic missiles with a range of 1,600 to 1,900 kilometers (994 to 1,180 miles) and Iranian Shahed-136 drones that can travel up to 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), experts say.

The rebels previously threatened to extend their attacks to the Indian Ocean and to vessels taking the detour around southern Africa to avoid the Yemeni coast. But their main focus has remained the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

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