Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Yemeni terrorist group Ansar Allah, said on Thursday that his jihadists would cross the Red Sea and attack random commercial ships in an attempt to disrupt shipping routes around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. They announced that they would expand their attacks. .
After declaring war on Israel in October, the Houthis, commonly known as Ansar Allah, launched a terrorist campaign against ships attempting to enter the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb strait that surrounds Yemen. , which was intended to support Iranian-backed Brotherhood terrorism. The Houthis say their attack is an attempt to prevent Israel from continuing its self-defense operations in Gaza, a Hamas stronghold, and is aimed at preventing a repeat of the atrocities committed in October. .
The Houthis falsely claim to be Yemen’s legitimate government. They have held control of the capital Sana’a since a 2014 siege and are currently waging a civil war against the country’s real government, headquartered in the southern city of Aden.
Houthi leaders have claimed that they intend to disrupt trade with Israel and only target ships attempting to travel to and from Israel, and have since responded to coalition airstrikes against Houthi targets. In response, they claimed to have expanded their attacks to include ships belonging to the United States and the United Kingdom. The US and UK militaries have authorized airstrikes aimed at reducing the Houthis’ ability to target merchant ships. But President Joe Biden acknowledged in January that the attacks were ineffective.
A screen capture taken from the video shows the cargo ship ‘Galaxy Leader’, jointly owned by an Israeli company, being hijacked by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea on November 20, 2023 (Photo Provided by: Houthi Media Center/Handout/) Anadolu (via Getty Images).
While claiming that global shipping is safe and that only ships with ties to Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States are exposed to Houthi attacks, the Houthis bomb ships that have no open ties to these countries, and has also targeted ships belonging to Houthi allies such as Russia and China. ,Iran. The unpredictable nature of the attack caused the world’s largest shipping companies to reroute from the Red Sea region and head south around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. By January financial times It reported that container ship traffic through the Suez Canal had fallen by 90 percent compared to the previous year.
Abdul Malik al-Houthi said Thursday that the Houthis will soon begin bombing ships rerouting to Africa.
A billboard with a photo of Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi during a rally and parade to express solidarity with Palestinians against US-led airstrikes in Yemen and against Israel’s war, March 9. A Yemeni Houthi fighter stands next to the Sanaa, Yemen, 2024 (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images).
“By the grace and assistance of Allah, we aim to prevent the passage of enemy Israeli-affiliated ships from South Africa to the Cape of Good Hope through the Indian Ocean,” the Houthis declared, according to Iran’s state news agency. press tv. “For this important, advanced and important step, we have begun conducting related operations from South Africa to the Cape of Good Hope through the Indian Ocean.”
“Our human conscience, our religion, our morals, our dignity, our pride, our Islamic affiliation, will not allow us to stand by and tolerate the oppression of Palestine. “I forbid you to be silent about it,” he declared.
The route around the Cape of Good Hope is already considerably more troublesome than passing from Asia to Europe and vice versa through Egypt’s Suez Canal. This long-distance route could take him as much as two weeks longer than via the Mediterranean, and would be significantly more expensive given the additional fuel and security costs. Using the busy African ports for refueling and navigation is also quite difficult in terms of logistics. In December, as ships began to turn around, ports across Africa began reporting massive traffic jams and struggles to maintain fuel supplies to serve all the new vessels. Ta.
In statements on Thursday, the Houthis claimed that terrorists had already launched attacks in an “unprecedented range”, including three locations in the Indian Ocean. He tallied the number of ships attacked by jihadists since October at 73, adding that the U.S. military had carried out 32 “bombings and attacks” against Houthi targets, but that “there were always “I failed like that,” he claimed.
“The impact of US raids and bombings is negligible in terms of our missile and drone capabilities, the continuation of operations to effectively counter them, and the interdiction of vessels associated with Israel’s enemies.” The faction boasted.
Iranian state broadcaster Press TV also claimed On Thursday, anonymous sources speaking to Russian propaganda outlet Sputnik reported that the Houthis now possess hypersonic missiles “with high destructive potential.”
“Yemen plans to start manufacturing this device for use in attacks in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and against targets inside Israel,” the source claimed.
The Pentagon’s Central Command (CENTCOM), which is in charge of Middle East operations, recorded two Houthi missiles fired into the Red Sea on Thursday, but reportedly said it was not a “U.S. or coalition vessel.” ” was said to be undamaged, the latest known Houthi terrorist attack in China. region. CENTCOM also claimed a successful attack that destroyed two Houthi drones and nine anti-ship missiles.
Red Sea Update for March 14th
Between 6:50 a.m. on March 14th and 12:40 a.m. on March 15th (Sana’a time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched an anti-ship attack from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen into the Gulf of Aden. Two ballistic missiles (ASBM) were launched. Additional ASBMs towards Red… pic.twitter.com/Mck2CEEZSC
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 15, 2024
In his State of the Union address last week, Biden boasted that he would continue to order “further steps to protect our citizens and military personnel” in the Middle East.
“Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran. That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to protect international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.” Biden said. “I ordered the attack to degrade the Houthis’ capabilities and protect U.S. forces in the region.”
