• Sarea said: “The operation was launched in retaliation to the deceitful assault by American enemy troops on our naval forces”

Saeed Al-Batati

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthi militia said on Wednesday that it carried out a retaliation strike on the US Navy in the Red Sea with multiple missiles and drones.

In a statement, military spokesperson Yahya Sarea revealed that “large” numbers of the weapons were fired at a US Navy ship patrolling the waters in response to a naval attack by the Americans on Dec. 31 that left 10 of the group’s men dead.

He noted that the Houthi actions were also in protest at what it described as the US’ backing of Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Sarea said: “The operation was launched in retaliation to the deceitful assault by American enemy troops on our naval forces.”

The Iran-backed Houthis recently issued new threats against the US Navy following its destruction of three boats carrying the killed Houthi personnel and attempting to seize a ship in the Red Sea.

The Houthi announcement came hours after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday that American and British navy ships shot down 21 Houthi drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile fired from areas under their control in Yemen on Tuesday night. It was the largest Houthi Red Sea attack to date.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said: “This is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since Nov. 19. There were no injuries or damage reported.”

The post also reaffirmed a warning by the US, the UK, and other nations to punish the Houthis for compromising Red Sea security.

As well as drone and missile attacks, the Houthis have seized a commercial ship as part of their attempts to pressure Israel into allowing humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.

The UN’s Yemen envoy, Hans Grundberg, was currently in consultation with the warring factions in Yemen to formulate a peace plan to end the conflict.

In the Omani capital Muscat, Grundberg met Mohammed Abdul Sallam, chief negotiator of the Houthis, and officials from Oman to discuss how to get international support for his efforts to forge a roadmap that would address issues such as implementing a nationwide truce, resuming the political process in Yemen, and paying public employees.

On Sunday, Rashad Al-Alimi, president of Yemen’s internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council, discussed with Grundberg progress to date.

Al-Alimi renewed the council’s pledge to support UN-led peace efforts during a meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday with Catherine Corm-Kammoun, France’s ambassador to Yemen.

During his talks with the French envoy, Al-Alimi highlighted his government’s efforts to mitigate the economic impact of Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea as well as on oil installations in Yemen.

Grundberg recently said he had received commitments from both the Yemeni government and the Houthis to support a ceasefire and other measures to alleviate Yemenis’ suffering. These included paying state employees in Houthi-controlled areas and resuming oil exports from government-controlled areas.

Meanwhile, the government-run Criminal Court in Yemen’s temporary capital of Aden on Wednesday served death sentences on three members of a raided Houthi cell accused of murdering government soldiers by blowing up their military vehicle in Dhale province.