The United States military launched another air strike against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Tuesday, targeting anti-ship missiles in America’s third such attack in less than a week.
“On Jan. 16 at approximately 1:45 pm (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants launched an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
“M/V Zografia, a Maltese flagged bulk carrier reported they were struck but seaworthy and were continuing their Red Sea transit. No injuries were reported.
“Earlier in the day at approximately, 4:15 am (Sanaa time), US Forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”
US and UK Strike Military Targets in Yemen in Response to Houthi Attacks in Red Sea, Gulf of Aden
According to the Embray maritime security firm and the Greek Shipping and Island Policy Ministry, the M/V Zografia bulk carrier was hit at a location about 76 nautical miles from the Yemeni port city of Saleef, while heading north to the Suez Canal.
Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a pre-recorded statement that the vessel did not answer warning calls and was heading for a port in Israel, according to Military.com.
The vessel, which was carrying no cargo, sustained material damage, and continued on its way, the news outlet reported.
Two US Navy SEALS were lost at sea in a military operation to seize a boat carrying Iranian weaponry bound for Yemen’s Houthi rebels last week, the US military said Tuesday. The SEALs succeeded in seizing the Iranian advanced conventional weapons during the raid.
The Houthis are launching their attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden in order to paralyze the Israeli economy in solidarity with their fellow Iranian proxy, Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization.
The British-based Shell Oil Company – one of the largest in the world – announced Tuesday that it too had decided to suspend its shipments through the Red Sea indefinitely because of the attacks. Shell joins British Petroleum and Maersk in rerouting its vessels around Africa, adding at least nine more days to the route, in order to avoid Houthi attacks.
The attacks began shortly after approximately 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and slaughtered more than 1,200 people in some 22 villages and several military bases along the border with Gaza. The Hamas-led terrorists kidnapped 250 other people, dragging them into Gaza, where approximately 136 are still being held captive, including some who are no longer among the living.
