Houthi: Yemen introduced ‘submarine weapon’ in Red Sea operations

Yemen's armed forces have introduced the "submarine weapon" in their operations which they are carrying out in the Red Sea in solidarity with the Palestinians, Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi says.

“We introduced the submarine weapon into the confrontation in the Red Sea, and it is a weapon that worries the enemy,” he said in a televised speech on Thursday.

Yemeni forces have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden since November in support of Palestinians.

They say the operations will continue unless Israel stops its war on the besieged Gaza Strip, which has killed almost 30,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

So far, 183 missiles and drones have been launched against Israeli targets in the occupied territories, al-Houthi said. In the Red and Arab Seas, 48 ships have been targeted.

“Thirteen specific operations were carried out in recent days, the most prominent of which was sinking the British ship and shooting down the American drone,” he added. 

The US on Tuesday confirmed that an MQ-9 Reaper drone was downed in Yemen. In November, the Pentagon acknowledged the loss of an MQ-9, worth about $30 million, which was also shot down by Yemen over the Red Sea.

Watch: Yemeni forces, allies shoot down US MQ-9 Reaper drone in Ma’rib

New video footage shows Yemeni air defense forces and their allies shooting down a US-made MQ-9 Reaper drone as it was flying in the skies over the country’s central province of Ma’rib.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the drone was shot down on Monday off the coast of areas near the Red Sea.

“Initial indications are that it was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile,” she told reporters, referring to Yemen’s Ansarullah fighters who are at the spearhead of operations against Israeli and Israeli-bound vessels.

The group has added US and British assets to its list of targets since the two countries began targeting Yemen from the air and sea in support of Israel’s war on Gaza.     

President Joe Biden last month acknowledged the strikes were not having a deterrent effect against the Yemeni's army's launch of missiles and drones. 

Al-Houthi said Thursday, "Operations in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden are continuing, escalating, and effective."

“The available missiles have been developed to the point that the Americans are unable to intercept or shoot them down, despite the technology they possess,” he added.

On Monday, Yemeni forces targeted Britain’s Rubymar cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the crew was safe but that the ship was badly damaged and at risk of sinking.

Al-Houthi said, "We do not practice any blackmail against ships passing through the Red and Arab Seas on the condition that they are not heading to [Israel]."

He said the scale of the worsening humanitarian tragedy in Gaza increases the burden of responsibility on Arabs and Muslims to take serious action. 

"The wealthy Arab countries are wasting hundreds of billions on trivial matters and fueling strife, and do not even provide minimal food to the Palestinian people," al-Houthi added.

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