Illustrative image.
On October 24, the Saudi-led coalition announced that its warplanes had destroyed a booby-trapped boat of the Houthis (Ansar Allah) off the coast of the western Yemeni province of al-Hudaydah.
In a statement shared by the Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi-led coalition said that the water-borne improvised explosive device (WBIED) was hidden in the Island of Kamaran. According to the coalition, the boat was being prepared for an “imminent attack”.
“The [Houthi] militia continues to violate the scripts of the Stockholm ceasefire agreement on al-Hudaydah … The hostile behavior of the militia threatens shipping lines and global trade in the Bab al-Mandab strait and the southern Red Sea,” the statement reads.
The Houthis have been targeting Saudi-led coalition warships with remotely-controlled WBIEDs for the last few years. A report released by the Conflict Armament Research (CAR) in 2017 revealed that Iranian components were used in these makeshift anti-shipping weapons.
#عاجل #التحالف: تدمير زورق مفخخ بجزيرة كمران مقابل الصليف تم تجهيزه لتنفيذ عملية هجوم وشيك.#واس_عام pic.twitter.com/nV0PPNOSRI
— واس العام (@SPAregions) October 24, 2021
#عاجل #التحالف: السلوك العدائي للمليشيا يهدد خطوط الملاحة البحرية والتجارة العالمية بمضيق باب المندب وجنوب البحر الأحمر.#واس_عام pic.twitter.com/YJXtS2w44y
— واس العام (@SPAregions) October 24, 2021
A day earlier, the Saudi-led coalition claimed that its warplanes had targeted a workshop in al-Hodeida where the Houthis were assembling booby-trapped boats. Four WBIEDs were allegedly destroyed in the airstrikes.
The Saudi-led coalition escalated its aerial combat operations in Yemen in response to the Houthis’ recent advance in the central province of Ma’rib.
The coalition released footage showing some of 88 airstrikes its warplanes carried out on Houthi forces in the southern and western parts of the province between October 22 and 24. According to the coalition claims, 264 Houthi fighters were killed and 36 vehicles of the groups were destroyed in the airstrikes.
#فيديو | تحالف دعم الشرعية في اليمن ينشر لقطات فيديو أثناء عمليات استهداف الآليات العسكرية وعناصر المليشيا الحوثية بالجوبة والكسارة خلال الـ 72 ساعة الماضية.#واس_عام pic.twitter.com/SaOjaf0tGk
— واس العام (@SPAregions) October 24, 2021
The Houthis will likely respond to the coalition’s recent airstrikes very soon. The group may carry out another large-scale attack with missiles and drones on Saudi Arabia.