Naval forces from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on February 23, claimed that they foiled an “imminent terrorist” attack by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in the southern Red Sea, a major commercial shipping channel.
In a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki, said that the forces destroyed an unmanned boat laden with explosives that was launched from Hodeidah province in western Yemen. The Houthi movement has not confirmed the incident.
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Yemen lies along the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern mouth of the Red Sea, one of the most important trade routes for oil tankers heading from the Middle East to Europe.
According to Mr. Malki, the planned attack posed a threat to regional and international security and maritime trade. He added that the use of Hodeidah for operations is violating a UN-led peace deal in the disputed port city that was agreed between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Houthis in December 2018.
What is more, Reuters reports that coalition warplanes conducted numerous air strikes on the Houthi-held capital Sanaa on February 23, hitting the presidential palace and other military sites.
These are the first strikes to hit the capital for several months, and they came after attempted missile attacks by Houthi forces on Saudi cities on February 23, as the kingdom prepared for a gathering of finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies in Riyadh.