The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Thursday that its forces had successfully destroyed three drones within the past 24 hours.
According to a statement shared on social media, two of these drones were intercepted over the Red Sea, while the third was eliminated in areas controlled by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
CENTCOM highlighted that these drones posed an imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, as well as commercial vessels in the region.
The decision to destroy them was made to ensure the safety of international waters and to protect the freedom of navigation.
Since November, Houthi rebels have increasingly targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, citing support for Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which erupted on October 7.
These attacks have disrupted shipping in this strategically vital region, through which 12% of global trade passes.
On Wednesday, the British maritime security agency UKMTO reported that a commercial vessel was struck by three projectiles 77 nautical miles off the coast of Hodeidah, a Yemeni city under Houthi control. The attack ignited a fire on board and caused the ship’s engine to fail.
The ship’s captain reported that the vessel was hit by two unidentified projectiles before a third one struck, leaving the ship immobile. No casualties were reported.
Earlier, the captain had noted that two small boats approached the ship, one carrying three to five people and the other around ten. A brief exchange of gunfire occurred between the boats and the commercial vessel.
The UKMTO later reported that the ship was drifting after losing power and that the fire onboard was continuing to burn.
