Kills 10 Houthi Pirates during hijacking attempt in Red Sea

After US marines killed ten fighters on Sunday, the Houthis in Yemen threatened to make the Red Sea a "hell" for the US.

Under the headline "America has opened the door to hell for itself," the official Houthi news agency published an editorial on Monday, threatening retaliation for US Navy attacks on their boats in the Red Sea and alleging that the US is aiding Israel in its heavy bombardment of Gaza by preventing them from enforcing their ban on Israel-linked ships passing through the Red Sea.

According to the news source, the US Navy carried out “a foolish act by targeting three boats, as a result of which ten members of the Yemeni naval forces martyred, thus opening the door of hell upon itself, its ships, and its military bases in the region.”

After the Houthis attempted to take over a commercial ship and started firing on the helicopters, the US Navy destroyed three of the four boats they had in the Red Sea on Sunday, killing the crew members.

The Houthis claim that ten of their men perished in the US Navy attack.

Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti, the leader of the Houthis, declared that his group would continue to forbid ships bound for Israel from crossing the Red Sea and would attack the US ships that had murdered their soldiers.

Al-Bukhaiti stated to France 24 Arabic TV on Sunday night, “This is an attack on Yemen, and there must be retaliation, and America must suffer the repercussions of this attack and crime,”

The Houthis began their Red Sea assaults on November 19 when they took control of a commercial ship named Galaxy Leader and diverted it to the Hodeidah coast in western Yemen.

To compel commercial and navy ships to stay out of the Red Sea, they fired ballistic missiles and drones at them in the days that followed.

Some analysts predict that despite the Houthis' vehement threats of retaliation, regional players like Oman might intervene to urge the Houthis to defuse the situation and spare the promising UN-led efforts currently underway to devise a strategy to end the Yemeni conflict.

Senior Middle East analyst Mohammed Al-Basha of the Navanti Group stated that the Houthis are facing increasing public pressure to respond. Should they choose to do so, he said, they would attack US Navy ships with explosive-laden suicide boats while also launching massive drones and missiles meant to outmaneuver the US Navy's air defenses.

Al-Basha told Arab News that “The effectiveness of the US Navy’s defense mechanisms could prompt the Houthis to contemplate a coordinated swarm offensive, involving joint drone attacks, Water-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices, and anti-ship missiles, with the aim of targeting a destroyer.”

Also check out Cyclolore Magazine’s new DOSSIER Mining Issue & other publications we’ve released below!

Related Stories to read next from this featured panel!