Oct 20, 2016

The United States has accused Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who took over the country’s capital in September 2014, of launching multiple attacks by anti-ship missiles — two Oct. 10 and a possible third Oct. 15 — on its ships in the Red Sea. These attacks came after the Houthis targeted the United Arab Emirates (UAE) vessel SWIFT and released footage of the attack.

While the Houthi attack that damaged the UAE’s SWIFT on Oct. 1 was strongly condemned by the UAE, which called it an “act of terrorism,” the US reaction to attempted missile strikes on its ships was fiercer. In retaliation against the attacks on the US destroyer Mason destroyer and the amphibious transport dock Ponce on Oct. 10, the US military targeted three coastal radar sites along the Red Sea despite the Houthis’ denial of carrying out those attacks against the US targets.

It did not take long before the anti-ship missile attack on the destroyer was thought to be repeated. This suspected attack came Oct. 15, hours after the release of two US citizens who were held captive in Sanaa by the Houthi rebels. They were flown to Oman in what was seen as a gesture of goodwill toward the United States. The Houthis denied any connection with the suspected attack, which raised speculation about the identity of those responsible for the attacks and even about the attack itself.

After initial reports that there might have been a malfunction with the destroyer’s radar detection system during the third presumed attack on the Mason, the Pentagon declined to state whether the Mason indeed had been targeted by anti-ship missiles Oct. 15.

These latest developments complicate one of the region’s complex conflicts. While they reflect an evolvement in the military capabilities of the alliance between the Houthis and their old foe and current ally, Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, enabling them to reach new targets and thereby signal their resilience and ability of continuing their war, they also take the Yemeni conflict from the regional to the international arena by posing a threat to international trade that passes through the Red Sea.