U.S. Central Command said it shot down a drone launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen over the Red Sea early Monday.
According to a press release, military personnel determined the drone was hostile and shot it down from the air at approximately 4 a.m.
” [uncrewed aerial system] U.S. Central Command posed an imminent threat to commercial shipping in the region.” It said in a statement.
“These steps are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., allied and commercial shipping.”
On Monday, the Houthis claimed attacks on two destroyers in the Red Sea and three ships in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. According to Reuters.
The US strikes came after Yemen’s Houthi rebels shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper over Marib province and claimed to have downed a second US MQ-9 Reaper drone days later.
Tensions between Western countries and the Houthis, an Iranian-backed Shiite Islamist political group seeking political control in Yemen, have been rising since shortly after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas late last year.
Since the war, the United States has been forced to shoot down numerous missiles and drones from the Houthis, widely seen as one of Iran’s biggest proxies in the region.
The Houthis say their attacks on Western assets are a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
After removing the Houthis from the terrorist list in 2021, President Biden redesignated the group as a terrorist organization in January. – A shift in Trump administration policy.
The US also carried out a series of strikes against Houthi-backed targets earlier this year after the rebels wreaked havoc on key shipping routes.
