The United States, its allies and partners will continue to defend commercial vessels in the Red Sea from Houthi rebel attacks, Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of Naval Forces Central Command, said in a Department of Defense statement.
His remarks follow a Thursday incursion by Iran-backed Houthis, who flew and detonated a maritime drone into the Red Sea’s international shipping lanes. There were no casualties and no ships were hit in the incident, the vice admiral said.
According to a DefenseScoop report, the unmanned drone attack was the first since the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian was launched in mid-December in the Red Sea, a heavily traveled Red Sea waterway that carries maritime traffic between Europe and Asia.
Cooper noted that about 1,500 commercial vessels have plied the Red Sea safely since the alliance launched the defensive operation.
Operation Prosperity Guardian has resulted in the U.S. coalition shooting down 19 hostile drones and missiles, as well as the sinking of three small Houthi boats targeting commercial ships on the waterway, the Navy commander added.