Yemeni security sources revealed that the Houthi militias have lost contact with a significant boat that was on a smuggling mission from the Horn of Africa to the shores of Al Hudaydah on the Red Sea.
The vessel, which was expected to arrive last Thursday, was reportedly carrying foreign experts along with a cargo of military gear and materials used in rocket and explosives manufacturing.
The city of Al Hudaydah has been under heightened security alert since Saturday evening, amid fears that the missing boat may have been intercepted by U.S. and international forces. In response, the militias have mobilized a large number of fishing boats to patrol the Red Sea and search for the missing vessel.
In a related development, the U.S. Central Command announced last Friday that it had destroyed three Houthi-operated drones in an area controlled by the group in Yemen.
Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated that the group had targeted the vessel Charysalis twice in the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait with ballistic missiles, naval missiles, and drones.
Since last fall, the Houthis have been targeting cargo ships, which they claim are associated with Israel, in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean. This ongoing conflict has escalated tensions in the Red Sea region.
In response to these maritime attacks, the U.S.-led coalition has been conducting air raids targeting Houthi positions in various parts of Yemen.
As tensions escalated further in January with the involvement of Washington and London, the Houthi group declared all American and British ships as potential military targets.
