Photo: Collected
The ruling Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement in northern Yemen said its members attacked the UK oil tanker Andromeda Star in the Red Sea with anti-ship missiles and shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces Navy... attacked the British oil ship Andromeda Star in the Red Sea with several... anti-ship missiles, resulting in a direct hit... Yemeni Armed Forces Air Defense Forces also successfully shot down a US MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle in the airspace of Saada province,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria wrote on Telegram.
Saria said the Houthis will continue to carry out military operations until “the blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel is lifted” and until “the aggression against the Palestinian people” in Gaza is stopped.
On Thursday (25 April), Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said that in the 202 days of fighting in the Gaza Strip, they had attacked 102 Israeli or associated ships, and the port in Israel's Eilat had ceased to function due to constant attacks.
The Houthis, after the start of Israel's military operation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip in October 2023, said that they intend to use all means to prevent the passage of ships associated with Israel through the Red and Arabian Seas, as well as other ships going to its ports, until Israel ends the blockade and hostilities in Gaza.
A US military official has confirmed that a US Air Force MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in Yemen on Friday.
Houthis have been launching attacks on commercial and military vessels in the region for months, in response to Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip. The attacks prompted the US to form a multinational coalition to protect shipping in the area, as well as to strike Houthi targets on the ground.
Messenger/Mumu
