CAIRO: US, French and British forces downed dozens of drones in the Red Sea area overnight and on Saturday (Mar 9) after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune and US destroyers in the region, the US military said in a statement.
The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech on Saturday they had targeted the cargo vessel and “a number of US war destroyers at the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with 37 drones”.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the US military and coalition forces had downed at least 28 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Red Sea in the early hours of Saturday.
“No US or Coalition Navy vessels were damaged in the attack and there were also no reports by commercial ships of damage,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
Earlier on Saturday, CENTCOM said the military was responding to a large-scale attack on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4am and 630am ET (5pm and 730pm, Singapore time).
The UAVs were intended to present “an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy, and coalition ships in the region”, it said in a post on social media platform X.
A French warship and fighter jets also shot down four combat drones that were advancing towards naval vessels belonging to the European Aspides mission in the region, a French army statement said.
“This defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence, under the Barbados flag, which was struck on Mar 6 and is being towed, as well as other commercial vessels transiting in the area,” it said.
France has a warship in the area as well as warplanes at its bases in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates.
