NEW YORK, July 11. /TASS/. US forces have destroyed two Houthi drones and an unmanned surface vessel in the Red Sea, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
"In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command forces successfully destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) over the Red Sea and one Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface vessel (USV) in the Red Sea," it wrote on its X page.
According to CENTCOM, these unmanned vehicles posed a treat to US, coalition and merchant ships in the region.
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.