Houthis launch another drone attack against Red Sea shipping lanes

By Oren Liebermann, CNN

(CNN) — The Houthis launched an unmanned surface drone against commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea early Thursday morning as the US Navy commander in the region said he sees no sign of the attacks abating.

The attack with the unmanned surface vessel (USV) marks the first time the Houthis have used this type of weapon since they began targeting merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea following the beginning of the war in Gaza. The USV traveled from Yemen into international shipping lanes “clearly with the intent to do harm” before detonating, said Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Naval Forces Central Command.

It wasn’t clear if a specific ship was targeted, and the USV exploded without causing damage to any ships or injuring any crews.

It is the 25th Houthi attack on ships in the Red Sea since November 18th, Cooper said. The attacks are almost certain to continue, Cooper said, prompting the US to create a multinational coalition to defend crucial shipping lanes in the Red Sea and through the Bab el-Mandeb straight.

The Yemen based Houthis, are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate and fuel a wider regional conflict. And as the attacks continue, with major shipping and oil companies avoiding the area, there are real concerns about the impact on the global economy.

“There are no signs their irresponsible behavior is abating,” Cooper told reporters in a briefing Thursday morning.

Last month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the start of Operation Prosperity Guardian with the goal of deterring Houthi attacks and safeguarding shipping lanes.

Cooper said the coalition now consists of 22 countries and is expected to grow. Since the beginning of the operation, the operation has shot down 19 drones and missiles launched from Houthi territory, as well as sinking 3 Houthi small boats, Cooper said.

Although there was a maritime presence in the Red Sea prior to Operation Prosperity Guardian, it was “episodic at best,” Cooper said, because it wasn’t necessary. But the sheer number and frequency of Houthi attacks require a persistent presence there.

There are currently 5 warships from different countries in and around the Red Sea, as well as manned and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier contributing to the effort, Cooper said.

The Houthis began launching the attacks soon after the start of the Gaza war, claiming they were targeting ships with ties to Israel as they stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

But most of the last dozen attacks had no connection to Israel at all, Cooper said, even as it draws more nations into the situation.

The US assesses that 55 nations have direct connections to the ships that have been attacked, whether through the flagging state of the ship, the nationality of the crew, the ship’s origin and destination, or the vessels’ ownership.

“The impact of these attacks spreads across the globe, and as we’ve said, this is an international problem that requires an international solution,” Cooper said.

There is no specific information that US warships have been directly targeted in the attacks, Cooper said, but he noted that many of the attacks have been in the vicinity of US ships, which take defense actions to protect themselves and the commercial vessels.

In response to the threat to shipping, the Navy is in frequent communication with commercial vessels as they transit the Red Sea.

“We do provide a lot of advice in terms of best practices of when to transit, when not to transit, where to transit, how to do that, how to communicate with us,” said Cooper. About 1,500 merchant ships have transited the Red Sea since the operation began, he said, even as some of the world’s biggest shipping companies have decided to avoid the critical waterway over security concerns.

Asked about an Iranian warship in the southern Red Sea, Cooper said he was not concerned. Iran has routinely had an auxiliary ship and a combatant ship in the area for the last 3 years, and the warship presents little additional threat.

“That vessel has been present,” said Cooper. “They represent little concern today.

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