The destroyer USS Gravely is seen in the southern Red Sea on Tuesday, February 13th. The Central Communications Agency announced that U.S. forces repelled five Houthi attacks on Saturday.
Bernat Armang/AP
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Bernat Armang/AP
The destroyer USS Gravely is seen in the southern Red Sea on Tuesday, February 13th. The Central Communications Agency announced that U.S. forces repelled five Houthi attacks on Saturday.
Bernat Armang/AP
The US military said on Saturday that it had attacked a submarine deployed by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Officials say the U.S. military has detected Iranian-backed rebels using what the military calls “unmanned submarines” (UUVs) since a series of attacks began in the region on Oct. 23. He added that it was the first time he had observed it.
Houthi rebels have been tracking international commercial ships passing through the Red Sea in recent months. The group's leaders say they are targeting ships with ties to Israel in response to Israel's continued invasion of Gaza. Many of the targeted vessels have no connection to Israel.
The Houthis, a powerful Iranian-backed rebel group that supports Hamas, have controlled much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since overthrowing the government in 2014.
Rebels have fired missiles at civilian ships navigating the area and deployed drones, and the U.S. military has repeatedly intervened to help repel attacks. Houthi attacks have also targeted US warships.
Last month, the United States, along with Britain and other allies, launched a series of retaliatory strikes against dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen.
U.S. officials said at the time that more than 2,000 ships had to change course to avoid crossing the Red Sea, potentially leading to global shipping delays.
US Central Command announced on Saturday that it conducted five successful “self-defense strikes” against UUVs, unmanned surface vessels, and three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles between 3pm and 8pm Sanaa time.
The military said it had identified the attack in Yemen's Houthi-held areas and determined it “posed an imminent threat to U.S. naval vessels and commercial vessels in the region.”
