NEW YORK, May 23. /TASS/. The US military has destroyed four drones of Yemen’s Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on the X social network.

At approximately 3:16 p.m. (Sanaa time, 12:16 p.m. GMT) on May 22, US Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully engaged four uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) in an Iranian-backed Houthi controlled area of Yemen," the statement says.

According to the statement, the drones "presented an imminent threat to US, coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region."

Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement warned that they would carry out strikes on Israeli territory and would bar any ships associated with the Jewish state from sailing across the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave ended. Since mid-November 2023, the Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.