A military spokesman for Yemen's Houthis has announced the group carried out fresh attacks Tuesday, as they continue keeping up the pressure on the US-led naval coalition patrolling the Red Sea.
Significantly, the spokesman announced in the new operation attacks using kamikaze drones "targeting several American warships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea."
The statement further said, according to a translation, "Simultaneously, Yemen targeted sensitive IOF military locations in the Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) south of occupied Palestine using kamikaze drones."
"Additionally, the Yemeni naval forces targeted an Israeli ship MSC SILVER in the Gulf of Aden with anti-ship missiles," the Houthi spokesman's written statement said.
It's as yet unclear whether the drones struck their intended targets. The latest Pentagon statement didn't indicate this was the case. But a statement did confirm an attempt to strike the USS Laboon with an anti-ship cruise missile. On Tuesday US Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a list of at least five significant military actions and events from Monday into early Tuesday.
According to the new statement:
"On Feb 19, between 12:30 and 1:50 p.m., two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward M/V Sea Champion, a Greek-flagged, U.S.-owned grain carrier in the Gulf of Aden. Minor damage and no injuries were reported. The ship continued toward its scheduled destination to deliver grain to Aden, Yemen. A surface to air missile launcher was located and destroyed by U.S. CENTCOM forces in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at approximately 5 p.m."
And more:
- One additional anti-ship ballistic missile was launched at 6:40 p.m. but did not impact any commercial or coalition ships. At 7:20 p.m., a one-way attack (OWA) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) struck the M/V Navis Fortuna, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned, bulk carrier causing minor damage and no injuries...
- At 8:15 p.m., U.S. CENTCOM forces destroyed a OWA UAV in Western Yemen prepared to launch at ships in the Red Sea.
- Between 8 p.m. on Feb. 19 and 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 20, U.S. and coalition aircraft and warships shot down 10 OWA UAVs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
- Additionally, at 12:30 a.m., Feb. 20, USS Laboon (DDG 58) identified one anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) headed in its direction. USS Laboon subsequently shot down the ASCM.
All of this follows US officials admitting that over the weekend that an MQ-9 Reaper drone was downed off Yemen's coast (at least the second such US drone downing in several months). All of this demonstrates Houthi attacks are coming more frequently, and it is perhaps only a matter of time before a drone slips or missile through the Western naval coalition's anti-air defense measures.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has issued new figures related to the ongoing economic impact of Red Sea transit being essentially closed to all major Western tanker companies.
He said in a fresh statement that revenues from the Suez Canal have "decreased by 40 to 50 percent" so far this year, according to Agence France Presse (AFP). Egypt is already gripped by a worsening financial crisis, and further the majority conservative Muslim population is increasingly outrage at what's happening in nearby Gaza, and their own government's failure to do anything about it.