CAIRO (Reuters) – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden, the group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech early on Saturday.
The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
Sarea also said on Saturday they targeted “a number of U.S. war destroyers at the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with 37 drones”.
Early on Saturday, U.S. Navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea area, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The military was responding to a large-scale attack by the Houthis launched into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m (1300-1530 GMT), CENTCOM said in a post on social media platform X.
The UAVs were determined to present “an imminent threat to merchant vessels, U.S. Navy, and coalition ships in the region”, it said.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday the the United States will continue to hold Yemen’s Houthis accountable for attacks on international shipping.
Sarea said they would continue their attacks “until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted”.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Writing Adam Makary; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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