The Houthis continue to alarm the world with their recent territorial gains, and now a troubling report has emerged. After seizing control of large sections of the southern Red Sea coast, the Yemeni terror group has reportedly planted naval mines in the Bab al-Mandab Strait—bringing the organization closer than ever to shutting down the vital shipping route, just as Iran’s regime did in the Strait of Hormuz.
A Yemeni military source told German media Thursday that the Houthis dug trenches in the mountains overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait and used them to mine the international shipping lane, mirroring Iran’s tactics in Hormuz. The source claimed these operations are “an attempt by the Houthis to prevent or delay Yemeni government forces from retaking the areas they recently captured.”
1+The report comes after Reuters published details of direct talks between the U.S. and the Houthis. According to that report, the pro-Iranian terror group promised American officials at a meeting in Muscat that it would not attempt to attack American and Israeli ships—as long as they have no connection to Saudi Arabia.
Last week the Houthis scored a significant achievement, seizing control of a central area along the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This development gave the terror organization a strategic position on Yemen’s Red Sea coast and greater capability to disrupt shipping traffic through one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.
1+This control has raised fears of threats to international shipping and disruptions to trade and energy supplies through the Red Sea, especially given the terror group’s possession of ballistic missiles, drones, and naval capabilities.