Published March 2, 2024
More than two months of direct fighting with the Houthis has heavily taxed the U.S. military, which is expending a significant amount of money to take down cheap drones, launch retaliatory strikes and defend against rebels who are, in turn, shooting down pricey American drones.
In most cases, the U.S. is launching $2 million defense missiles to stop $2,000 Houthi drones, a discrepancy that the Yemeni rebel group has noted in its statements mocking Washington.
The cost of taking on the Houthis is also becoming more apparent as the defiant fighters show no signs of stopping and could lock the U.S. into a long conflict — and it’s throwing the world into a tough spot.
“North Yemen is becoming like North Korea when it comes to firing rockets over the seas,” said Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen and Middle East expert at analyst and consulting company Navanti Group. “It’s going to be a long-term issue for not just us, but for the world.”
Since late November, the Houthis have attacked commercial boats and U.S. ships dozens of times, with most of the attacks unsuccessful as the U.S. shoots down drones or anti-ship cruise missiles on a near-daily basis.
But they successfully hijacked a ship in November, set a ship on fire in January and nearly sunk a British cargo vessel last month.
To date, the Houthis have hit 15 commercial ships since the fighting began in November, with four of those ships U.S. vessels, according to Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Pete Nguyen.
The U.S. in December set up a task force called Operation Prosperity Guardian, which involves a coalition of other allied nations, to patrol the waters of the Red Sea and defend commercial shipping against the Houthis. In January, the U.S. began launching strikes on the Houthis with the U.K., and both nations have continued to target the group in Yemen to knock out military capabilities before they can be used in an attack.
The maritime operation is still in effect. Between four and eight coalition ships are in the Red Sea on any given day, according to the Pentagon, but the U.S. is the primary actor taking down Houthi drones and missiles.
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SOURCE: www.thehill.com
RELATED: A ship earlier hit by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sinks in the Red Sea, the first vessel lost in conflict
Published March 2, 2024
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after days of taking on water, officials said Saturday, the first vessel to be fully destroyed as part of their campaign over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The sinking of the Rubymar comes as shipping through the crucial waterway for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East to Europe has been affected by the Houthi attacks.
Already, many ships have turned away from the route. The sinking could see further detours and higher insurance rates put on vessels plying the waterway — potentially driving up global inflation and affecting aid shipments to the region.
The Belize-flagged Rubymar had been drifting northward after being struck by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on Feb. 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government, as well as a regional military official, confirmed the ship sank. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorization was given to speak to journalists about the incident.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which watches over Mideast waterways, separately acknowledged the Rubymar’s sinking Saturday afternoon.
The Rubymar’s Beirut-based manager could not be immediately reached for comment.
Yemen’s exiled government, which has been backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, said the Rubymar sank late Friday as stormy weather took hold over the Red Sea. The vessel had been abandoned for 12 days after the attack, though plans had been made to try and tow the ship to a safe port.
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SOURCE: www.apnews.com
