DUBAI: US and allied forces shot down 15 one-way attack drones fired by Iran-backed Yemeni rebels into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the US military said on Saturday.
It was one of the Houthis’ largest attacks since they began in November a campaign of drone and missile strikes against ships in the Red Sea area, vital for world trade, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the “large-scale” Houthi attack occurred before dawn into the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden.
CENTCOM and coalition forces determined that the drones “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region.”
It added, in a post on social media platform X, that “US Navy vessels and aircraft along with multiple coalition navy ships and aircraft shot down 15” of the drones.
“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure.”
On January 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time.
Britain said it was the largest attack to that point by the Houthis.
The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade.
Since January the United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks, but the rebels have continued to attack merchant vessels and have also targeted American and British ships.
US-led coalition shoots down 15 Yemen rebel drones: CENTCOM
https://arab.news/p94bv
US-led coalition shoots down 15 Yemen rebel drones: CENTCOM
- US Central Command said the “large-scale” Houthi attack occurred before dawn into the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden
Hundreds mourn in Syria’s Homs after deadly mosque bombing
- Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect
HOMS: Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday despite rain and cold outside of a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs where a bombing the day before killed eight people and wounded 18.
The crowd gathered next to the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al-Dhahab neighborhood, where the population is predominantly from the Alawite minority, before driving in convoys to bury the victims.
Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect.
A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates.
The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.
A neighbor of the mosque, who asked to be identified only by the honorific Abu Ahmad (“father of Ahmad“) out of security concerns, said he was at home when he heard the sound of a “very very strong explosion.”
He and other neighbors went to the mosque and saw terrified people running out of it, he said. They entered and began trying to help the wounded, amid blood and scattered body parts on the floor.
While the neighborhood is primarily Alawite, he said the mosque had always been open to members of all sects to pray.
“It’s the house of God,” he said. “The mosque’s door is open to everyone. No one ever asked questions. Whoever wants to enter can enter.”
Mourners were unable to enter the mosque to pray Saturday because the crime scene remained cordoned off, so they prayed outside.
Some then marched through the streets chanting “Ya Ali,” in reference to the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law whom Shiite Muslims consider to be his rightful successor.
