UK Defence Secretary: “Watch This Space” On Response To Continued Houthi Attacks
British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has hinted at a possible response by a Western-led coalition in the Red Sea against Houthi militants in Yemen, after Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond worked alongside US warships in shooting down the largest salvo of missiles and drones launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis to date.
Shapps told reporters on Wednesday that the situation in the Red Sea is “unsustainable”, telling those present to “watch this space” when asked about a possible military response to the continued attacks.
Earlier, United States Central Command reported that the Houthis had launched a “complex attack” at 9:15 PM Sanaa time local time January 9. Eighteen one-way drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile were stated to have been shot down by a “joint effort” between F/A-18 Super Hornets of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and four destroyers, the USS Gravely, USS Laboon, USS Mason and HMS Diamond.
According to Shapps, the HMS Diamond used a combination of its Sea Viper surface-to-air missiles and its guns to shoot down seven incoming drones.
No injuries or damage was reported to have been caused by the attack, the 26th attack reported by US Central Command since the start of Houthi attacks and hijackings of merchant shipping in the Red Sea in November. The Houthis claim to be targeting Israeli-linked merchant shipping in solidarity with Hamas, demanding that the Hamas-Israel war end in exchange for a halt to the attacks that have disrupted shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
A spokesperson for the Houthis has claimed that the January 9 attack targeted a U.S. Navy warship as retaliation for the 31 December sinking of three Houthi boats that had attempted to board the Maersk Hangzhou container ship after it had been struck by a Houthi missile. The boats fired upon U.S. Navy helicopters that arrived in response to the Maersk Hangzhou’s call for aid, with the helicopters subsequently sinking three of four Houthi boats at the scene. The Houthis subsequently claimed to have lost ten fighters killed in the sinkings.