In the early morning of February 1, the Ambre Maritime Security Company announced at dawn that a merchant ship sailing off the coast of Yemen had been hit by a Houthi missile attack, and that "the ship had suffered a violent **".
According to Sky News, the missile was launched from the Yemeni province of Taiz. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarri claimed that their navy carried out a high-level operation to fire multiple anti-ship missiles at the USS Cole. The merchant ship was on its way to an Israeli port when it was hit directly by a missile.
Prior to that, the Houthis also launched missile attacks on US warplanes. On February 1, Sky News reported that the U.S. Middle East Military Command (CENTCOM) announced that the U.S. military destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday. The missile was aimed at U.S. warplanes and became an "imminent threat" to warplanes.
According to a statement from the U.S. ** command, at around 3:30 p.m. local time on January 31, a surface-to-air missile of the Houthis was ready to launch an attack on the U.S. warplane, but it was discovered by the U.S. military in time, and then the U.S. military bombed it and destroyed it.
On the same day, the Houthis also fired anti-ship cruise missiles at one of the United States. On January 31, Al Arabiya reported that the Houthis had issued a statement that they had attacked the USS Graveley with anti-ship missiles. According to the US Command, the Iranian-backed Houthis fired an anti-ship cruise missile into the Red Sea, targeting the US missile destroyer USS Graveley, but the missile was intercepted by the USS Graveley. No personnel** or losses were reported.
It is worth noting that the Houthis have made a breakthrough in attacking the US ** ship this time. In the past, the Houthis have also fired missiles at US ships, but the missiles are at the closest 8 miles (128 km), and this time the Houthi missiles were only 1 mile (16 km). CNN quoted *** as revealing that the USS Graveley missile destroyer had to use the CIWS melee system for the first time to shoot down the missile.
Within a day, U.S. warplanes, ** and merchant ships were attacked by the Houthis, and the frequent attacks made the U.S. defenseless. The United States could not bear it anymore and temporarily put aside its plans for Iran and instead retaliated against the Houthis.
On January 31, Al Arabiya reported that the United States and British ** teams again launched heavy bombardment of Houthi targets in Yemen on Wednesday night. According to Houthis**, the target of the US-British bombing was the northern outskirts of the city of Saada in Yemen, but did not cause any deaths, ** or potential damage.
Since mid-November last year, the Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. On January 12, the United States and the United Kingdom launched the first strike against targets in several Houthi cities in Yemen, using aircraft, ships and submarines, bombing multiple missile and drone bases and radar stations. On the night of January 23, the United States and the United Kingdom carried out a second joint strike, officially confirming that their main targets were underground warehouses of the Houthis and facilities related to missile launches and aerial surveillance.
The Houthis also announced in a high-profile manner that the Houthis are ready for a "long-term confrontation" with the United States and the United Kingdom, and will continue to target the United States and Britain in self-defense. This means that in the future, American aircraft, warplanes and merchant ships may be attacked more in the Red Sea. Most of the energy of the United States is contained by the Houthis, and it is estimated that the matter of fighting Iran can only be put on hold for now!