US military destroys new barrage of militia drones CENTCOM says actions taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer AL-MUKALLA: Missiles thought to have been fired by Houthi forces in Yemen targeted a commercial ship in the Red Sea on Monday as the US military destroyed a new barrage of Houthi drones. UK Maritime Trade Operations said that it received an alarm about an explosion in the proximity of a commercial ship 87 km northwest of Yemen’s western town of Al-Mokha, but that the ship and the crew were safe. “Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to (us),” UKMTO said on X. Ambrey, a UK maritime security service, identified the target ship as a Malta-flagged cargo vessel that was hit by three missiles while travelling from Djibouti to the Gulf. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for Monday’s strike, although they often only take credit several hours, sometimes even days, after an attack. Since November, the Iran-backed Houthis have seized one commercial ship, sunk another, and launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and remotely operated and explosives-laden boats at commercial and navy vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait. The Yemeni militia claims that the assaults are aimed only against Israel-bound and Israel-linked ships to push Israel to allow humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip. In response to the Houthi’s ship campaign, the US formed a coalition of marine forces to protect critical maritime channels off Yemen and began strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The US Central Command said that its forces on Sunday intercepted five drones launched by the Houthis over the Red Sea that were aimed at the US, its allies, and international commercial and naval ships. “These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US coalition and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said on X on Monday morning. At the same time, the Houthi-run Saba news agency reported that the group’s armed forces carried out more than 83 strikes on 103 ships affiliated with Israel and its allies, as well as shooting down three US military MQ-9 Reaper drones between November 19, 2023, and April 26, 2024. In a 39-page report on campaign against shipping in the Red Sea, the Houthis claimed that their strikes killed two American marines, two Filipinos, and one Vietnamese sailor while injuring four marines from the US-led marine task force. During the campaign, the Houthis captured one ship, set fire to four, sunk two others, and damaged scores more, according to the report. Despite a recent escalation in the number of strikes, since late last month the Houthis have drastically curtailed missile and drone attacks on ships. The decrease in assaults has caused US military generals and analysts to surmise that the Houthis may have run out of weaponry and that the US-led air campaign reduced their military capabilities.