The US and UK have hinted they could take military action against Yemen's Houthi rebels, after they repelled the largest attack yet on Red Sea shipping.

Carrier-based jets and warships shot down 21 drones and missiles launched by the Iran-backed group on Tuesday night.

The allies warned of "consequences" for such attacks. Asked about potential strikes in Yemen, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Watch this space."

The Houthis said they targeted a US ship providing support to Israel.

The have repeatedly claimed - often falsely - that they are attacking merchant vessels linked to Israel in protest at Israeli actions during the war in Gaza.

 

• Houthis defiant after warning over Red Sea attacks
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Tuesday's attack was the 26th on commercial shipping in the Red Sea since 19 November.

The US military said Iranian-designed one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at around 21:15 local time (18:15 GMT).

Eighteen drones, two cruise missiles and one ballistic missile were shot down by F/A-18 warplanes from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, which is deployed in the Red Sea, and by four destroyers, the USS Gravely, USS Laboon, USS Mason and HMS Diamond.

HMS Diamond shot down seven of the Houthi drones using its guns and Sea Viper missiles, each costing more than £1m ($1.3m), a defence source said.

 

No injuries or damage were reported.

Later, Houthi military spokesman Yahya al-Sarea confirmed its forces had carried out an operation involving "a large number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones".

"It targeted a US ship that was providing support for the Zionist entity [Israel]," he said.

"The operation came as an initial response to the treacherous assault on our naval forces by the US enemy forces," he added, referring to the sinking of three Houthi speed boats and killing of their crews by US Navy helicopters during an attempted attack on a container ship on 31 December.

He added that the rebels would "not hesitate to adequately deal with all hostile threats as part of the legitimate right to defend our country, people and nation".

 

Mr Sarea also reiterated that the Houthis would continue to "prevent Israeli ships or ships heading towards occupied Palestine from navigating in both the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the [Israeli] aggression [on Gaza] has come to an end and the blockade has been lifted".

 

FULL STORY

 

Is it possible to blow the whole lot of them off the face of the earth? I suspect even their mothers wouldn't miss them. 

I wonder if intelligence agents are already in Yemen watching where the rockets are being launched from?

Gathering some grid references.

Dear Mr Joe Biden     wait a while closer to election then geT the US Navy to destroy them ,have a press conference  -  we need them to die to save Democracy.

 

 

5 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Asked about potential strikes in Yemen, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Watch this space."

 

America! F yeah 👍

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Is it possible to blow the whole lot of them off the face of the earth? I suspect even their mothers wouldn't miss them. 

 

Only if you promise not to whine afterwards about civilian casualties, massacres, slaughter, genocide and so on....

Here we go again. Does the west never learn that wars in the Middle east are never a good idea?

They just extracted themselves from Afghanistan and want to get into another intractable problem war.

Stupidity writ large.

 

Save us from politicians.

Just now, thaibeachlovers said:

Here we go again. Does the west never learn that wars in the Middle east are never a good idea?

They just extracted themselves from Afghanistan and want to get into another intractable problem war.

Stupidity writ large.

 

Save us from politicians.

 

@thaibeachlovers

 

Being the strategic genius that you are, how would you tackle the fact that this group is disrupting international maritime commerce?

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

I wonder if intelligence agents are already in Yemen watching where the rockets are being launched from?

Gathering some grid references.

Do you think that they haven't taken that into consideration?

Rocket launchers are mobile for that exact reason. Where they launch from today is not where they launch from tomorrow. The military world has moved on from static gun emplacements.

 

As for "intelligence agents", you better believe that special forces are there already. They will be expected by the Houthies, as they will have learned from the opening stages of the Afghanistan war when US special forces pin pointed taliban sites for the bombers. The problem with that is it usually only works once.

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Is it possible to blow the whole lot of them off the face of the earth? I suspect even their mothers wouldn't miss them. 

With attitudes like that is it any wonder middle east communities want to kill western people?

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Do you think that they haven't taken that into consideration?

Rocket launchers are mobile for that exact reason. Where they launch from today is not where they launch from tomorrow. The military world has moved on from static gun emplacements.

 

As for "intelligence agents", you better believe that special forces are there already. They will be expected by the Houthies, as they will have learned from the opening stages of the Afghanistan war when US special forces pin pointed taliban sites for the bombers. The problem with that is it usually only works once.

 

@thaibeachlovers

 

Quote

The problem with that is it usually only works once.

 

That would be based on your experience? Imagination? The need to post something that sounds authoritative?

 

 

6 hours ago, CharlieH said:

HMS Diamond shot down seven of the Houthi drones using its guns and Sea Viper missiles, each costing more than £1m ($1.3m), a defence source said.

Wonder who will give up first if the Houthis can just keep sending cheap drones ( even unarmed ones ) to make the ships use up lots of expensive missiles.

I expect they have thought of doing that.

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

With attitudes like that is it any wonder middle east communities want to kill western people?

 

@thaibeachlovers

 

Middle Eastern communities do a great job of killing each other.

Just now, thaibeachlovers said:

Wonder who will give up first if the Houthis can just keep sending cheap drones ( even unarmed ones ) to make the ships use up lots of expensive missiles.

I expect they have thought of doing that.

 

@thaibeachlovers

 

That's because current efforts are purely defensive. If and when they go on the offense, things will shift some.

49 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Only if you promise not to whine afterwards about civilian casualties, massacres, slaughter, genocide and so on....

 

Whine is not a synonym for empathy , and the Houthis and the Gaza situation are not comparable  -  quantum leaps in illogic 

2 minutes ago, charleskerins said:

 

Whine is not a synonym for empathy , and the Houthis and the Gaza situation are not comparable  -  quantum leaps in illogic 

 

Maybe you'd like to reference how things were in Yemen a few years back. This forum was full of people decrying genocide, crimes against humanity, atrocities and so on.

 

There are no pretty wars. People choose what to get 'upset' at.

Just now, Morch said:

 

Maybe you'd like to reference how things were in Yemen a few years back. This forum was full of people decrying genocide, crimes against humanity, atrocities and so on.

 

There are no pretty wars. People choose what to get 'upset' at.

there are surgical strikes

1 minute ago, charleskerins said:

there are surgical strikes

 

Of course there are, there there.

41 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Here we go again. Does the west never learn that wars in the Middle east are never a good idea?

They just extracted themselves from Afghanistan and want to get into another intractable problem war.

Stupidity writ large.

 

Save us from politicians.

Save us from terrorists!

Are you happy that a bunch of terrorist should shut down the Suez Canal and inflict even more financial hardship on the rest of the world never mind kill innocent sailors on board the ships they are attacking and the sinking of the ships themselves?

I think these rebels are in for a serious shock.

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

I wonder if intelligence agents are already in Yemen watching where the rockets are being launched from?

Gathering some grid references.

All by satellite I imagine.

52 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Here we go again. Does the west never learn that wars in the Middle east are never a good idea?

They just extracted themselves from Afghanistan and want to get into another intractable problem war.

Stupidity writ large.

 

Save us from politicians.

Nobody voted against the UN Security Resolution, I take it yours would have been the only one...............

 

UN Security Council demands Houthis stop Red Sea attacks

Jan 10 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanded Yemen's Houthis immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea and cautioned against escalating tensions while implicitly endorsing a U.S.-led task force that has been defending vessels.

Eleven members voted for the measure demanding the Houthis "immediately cease all attacks, which impede global commerce and navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace."

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-security-council-demands-houthis-stop-red-sea-attacks-2024-01-10/

 

13 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

I think these rebels are in for a serious shock.

 

Insert Star Wars quote of choice here.

This situation could become untenable. The complexity is enormous because we do not know, in the case of a confrontation with Iran, what the role of Russia and China will be. But if these latter two get involved in a possible conflict, all bets are off. I remain hopeful that at least China realizes they have nothing to gain from a global conflict.

2 minutes ago, peter zwart said:

This situation could become untenable. The complexity is enormous because we do not know, in the case of a confrontation with Iran, what the role of Russia and China will be. But if these latter two get involved in a possible conflict, all bets are off. I remain hopeful that at least China realizes they have nothing to gain from a global conflict.

 

So far this is about the Houthis. Doubtful even Iran will get directly involved.

2 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Only if you promise not to whine afterwards about civilian casualties, massacres, slaughter, genocide and so on....

 

Al that is negligible , of course ...

5 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Maybe you'd like to reference how things were in Yemen a few years back. This forum was full of people decrying genocide, crimes against humanity, atrocities and so on.

 

There are no pretty wars. People choose what to get 'upset' at.

It wasn't just the forum, though, was it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_Yemen_(2016–present)#:~:text=aid was maintained.-,2021,the blockade devastates the nation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi-led_intervention_in_the_Yemeni_civil_war

 

5 hours ago, Morch said:

 

So far this is about the Houthis. Doubtful even Iran will get directly involved.

Apparently they are involved

5 hours ago, peter zwart said:

This situation could become untenable. The complexity is enormous because we do not know, in the case of a confrontation with Iran, what the role of Russia and China will be. But if these latter two get involved in a possible conflict, all bets are off. I remain hopeful that at least China realizes they have nothing to gain from a global conflict.

 

The ME right now reminds me a little of the Balkans before WW1. That doesn't mean things have to go down like they did in 1914, but it is a splintered, feuding and instable region with numerous small countries and fiefdoms. Outside major powers are circling and vying for advantage, all with any number of official and especially unofficial alliances and clan treaties. Even the regional religion is split into two hostile factions.

 

It is a bit of a tinderbox indeed.

Well if it does happen I hope that #1 we have good targeting information and they come down hard no piecemeal response,use an overwhelming response 100,000 % over kill then tell the Iranian mullas is this what you really want to happen to them?those mullas are nun to secure in Iran many there yearn for more freedom