US airstrikes destroy key Houthi targets

Shafaq News/ On Saturday, the US military announced the destruction of seven radars in Yemen, which were being used by the Houthis (Ansarallah) to target ships, amid an increase in the group's attacks on maritime navigation in the Red Sea.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, "US CENTCOM forces successfully destroyed seven Iranian-backed Houthi radars in a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen. These radars allow the Houthis to target maritime vessels and endanger commercial shipping."

CENTCOM reported that the radars were destroyed within the past 24 hours, and during the same period, two boats and a drone were also destroyed.

Meanwhile, the British Maritime Security Agency, UKMTO, reported that a military unit evacuated the crew of a cargo ship that was taking on water in the Red Sea following an attack by the Houthis.

The agency stated that the ship "Tutur," which was hit by a drone boat on Wednesday, was "abandoned and drifting" east of Hodeidah, a city in western Yemen that hosts a major port controlled by the Houthis.

Notably, the Houthi attacks reached halfway to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a 20-kilometer-wide passage that serves as the gateway to the Red Sea. Approximately 15% of global shipping traffic transits through this strait to and from the Suez Canal.

Despite many Western accusations suggesting Iran influences Houthis to target vessels, both Tehran and the Yemeni group deny such claims.

Iran asserted that the group makes independent decisions akin to other movements in the "Axis of Resistance," which includes Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iraqi factions, and others.

All groups within the Axis have declared that their attacks will persist until a ceasefire is achieved in the Gaza Strip, where Israel's actions have resulted in the deaths of over 37,702 Palestinians, predominantly children and women.