Iran-backed Houthis launch ‘complex attack’ on Red...

Iran-backed Houthis launch ‘complex attack’ on Red Sea shipping lanes

The Houthis fired a barrage of drones and missiles towards international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea on Tuesday but the “complex attack” was thwarted, the US military's Central Command has said.

Iran-backed Houthis fired 18 one-way attack drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile towards international shipping lanes where dozens of merchant vessels were transiting, the Central Command said.

American forces used F/A-18s launched from the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier and interceptors from three other ships. A British Royal Navy guided-missile destroyer was also involved.

“This is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since November 19. There were no injuries or damage reported,” the Central Command said.

Last week,the US, the UK, Bahrain and other nations demanded that Houthi rebels in Yemen halt their attacks in the Red Sea and warned of “consequences” if they continued their “destabilising” actions.

That message should be “taken very seriously”, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj Gen Patrick Ryder told reporters on Tuesday, shortly before the latest Houthi attack was made public.

Earlier on Tuesday, the administration of US President Joe Biden denied Republican claims that it was not doing enough to counter Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Iran-backed Yemeni rebels continue to use rockets and drones in the vital waterway despite repeated warnings from the US. – The National News