Houthis Claim Attacks on Three Ships After Two-Week Terror Pause

The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen announced on Wednesday they had resumed terrorist attacks against Red Sea shipping after a two-week pause.

The Houthis said they targeted three ships: a U.S. destroyer, the U.S. cargo ship Maersk Yorktown, and the Israeli container ship MSC Veracruz.

“The Yemeni armed forces confirm they will continue to prevent Israeli navigation or any navigation heading to the ports of occupied Palestine in the Red and Arabian Seas, as well as in the Indian Ocean,” said Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea on Wednesday.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) from their territory in Yemen, targeting the MV Yorktown, which CENTCOM described as a “U.S.-flagged, owned, and operated vessel with 18 U.S. and four Greek crew members.”

“There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships,” the statement said.

CENTCOM added that U.S. forces “successfully engaged and destroyed four airborne unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen” that “presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region.”

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British security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday it had received a report of an “explosion in the water” near Yemen’s port city of Aden, an area the Houthis have frequently attacked international shipping since the beginning of the Gaza war.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) also reported the explosion near Aden, which could have been the missile interception that CENTCOM described.

A Greek official said on Thursday that the Greek frigate Hydra intercepted two Houthi drones while “escorting a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden.” One of the drones was reportedly destroyed, while the other “moved away.”

The Houthis paused their terrorist strikes in the Red Sea earlier in April for reasons that are not entirely clear. Some U.S. officials said American and allied strikes against Houthi missile launchers and ammunition stockpiles had depleted their resources enough to make further Red Sea attacks difficult.

The National reported on Thursday that the Houthis might have paused their operations because the U.S. used intermediaries to offer them “incentives” to stop.

“In response to the Yemeni group’s attempts to target Israeli ships, the U.S. has not only resorted to military action but also sought to convey proposals that would incentivize the militants to stop their attacks,” a source in Yemen told the National.

“Messages containing incentives were sent from the Americans to Sanaa in recent weeks. These messages were delivered through envoys and mediators, including Western officials, with the Omani capital, Muscat, also playing a significant role,” the source added.

The Biden administration refused to comment on the report; although, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said the administration has “encouraged the sort of indirect and then direct discussions that led to a two-plus year of cessation of hostilities.”

“All of that has been a larger project for us, aligned with various Gulf partners, starting with the Saudis, but also the Omanis, the Emiratis, and so on,” said Leaf, a statement that would line up fairly well with the source from Yemen.

Leaf said the U.S. halted “direct discussions” with the Houthis after they began attacking Red Sea shipping but added that the Biden administration is “using all sorts of means, some diplomatic, some by shooting down missiles and UAVs, to discourage the Houthis from their ill-considered venture.”