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Middle East and North Africa

US destroys two Houthi unmanned surface vessels in Red Sea

US Central Command shared data in the past 24 hours

NEW YORK, June 20. /TASS/. US forces have destroyed two unmanned surface vessels of the Houthis from Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement in the Red Sea, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

"In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in the Red Sea," it wrote on its X page.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since mid-November, dozens of civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthi in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

In response to Ansar Allah's actions, the US authorities announced the creation of an international coalition and preparations for an operation codenamed Prosperity Guardian, expected to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. Since then, the United States and the United Kingdom have been regularly delivering strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

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Middle East and North Africa

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