The U.S. Central Command announced in a statement today, Thursday, that its forces carried out four strikes yesterday on seven cruise missiles and a platform for launching anti-ship ballistic missiles belonging to the Houthis in areas under their control in Yemen, prepared for launch towards the Red Sea. The command added via the platform "X" that U.S. forces shot down a Houthi drone "in self-defense" yesterday. The United States and Britain have been conducting repeated strikes on Houthi positions to disrupt and weaken the group's ability to threaten navigation in the Red Sea and undermine global trade. The Houthis claim they target vessels owned or operated by Israeli companies or those transporting goods to or from Israel, in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli attack since October 7.
In the statement released on Thursday, the command indicated that the operation took place yesterday, between 12:00 AM and 6:45 PM (Sanaa time). It confirmed the downing of a one-way attack Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) in self-defense. The command identified missiles, launch platforms, and drones coming from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, determining that they posed an imminent threat to commercial vessels and U.S. naval ships in the region. Following this, they struck and destroyed the missiles, launch platforms, and drones in self-defense.
They emphasized that these measures would protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer for both U.S. naval forces and commercial shipping. Earlier, the U.S. command announced that it had destroyed a missile launch platform and a drone in Houthi-controlled areas and managed to intercept another anti-ship ballistic missile after it was launched, without affecting any commercial vessels or those part of the international maritime coalition in the region. They added that they shot down 10 drones in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in recent hours.
