AL-MUKALLA: US Central Command said it carried out six strikes on Yemen on Monday, destroying an unmanned underwater vessel and 18 anti-ship missiles that the Yemeni Houthi militia had prepared to launch at US and international ships in the Red Sea, as the group warned it was prepared to step up attacks in the region during Ramadan.
The Houthis launched two missiles at the Pinocchio, a Singaporean-owned and Liberian-flagged ship, between 8:50 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. Sanaa time on Monday, according to CENTCOM. The missiles failed to impact the ship and caused no injuries or damage.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea claimed the Pinocchio is owned by the US and that their missiles “precisely” targeted the ship, pledging to intensify their assaults on shipping in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden during Ramadan.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces declare that, with God’s help, their military actions would expand throughout Ramadan, the month of jihad in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and our mujahideen brothers in Gaza,” Sarea said in a televised statement.
Houthi media also said that the US and UK carried out five strikes on the northern province of Saada on Monday, but did not provide specific targets.
Since November, the Iran-backed Houthis have attacked commercial and military ships in international waters off Yemen, claiming to be acting in support of Palestinians and attempting to force Israel to end its campaign in Gaza.
Last week, Houthi militia leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said the group has launched over 400 drones and missiles against more than 60 ships since the start of their operations.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani praised social media platform X for removing verification badges from Houthi media outlet and militia commanders’ accounts.
According to the ministry, X has withdrawn the blue verification mark from Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah Channel as well as accounts belonging to Sarea, Al-Houthi and others, and is preparing to shut those accounts at the request of the government.
“We commend this step that we have repeatedly called for as part of government efforts to dry up the Houthi militia (financial, political and media) resources, and we renew our demand for social media applications and satellite companies to ban the content of the Houthi militia,” Al-Eryani said on X.
Days after the US decision to reclassify the Houthis as terrorists in January, the Yemeni government sent official letters to major social media platforms such as Meta and X, demanding that they close Houthi media accounts as well as those belonging to the militia’s officials and sympathizers, accusing the Houthis of using social media platforms to incite hatred, recruit children for terrorism, and call for attacks on maritime traffic.
The Houthis criticized X for removing their verification, accusing it of attempting to silence them.
“Restricting Ansar Allah’s accounts on the X platform will not affect our position even if they close them permanently,” Houthi leader Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti said on X, using the official name of their group.
