The Tactical Army Rocket Tactic system used during a common South-U-Korea, Photo: Handout / AFP / Profimedia
American forces have destroyed the ISSA shaved fuel port, in an attempt to cut a source of supply and funds of the Houthi rebels, the US army announced, according to AFP.
Since March 15, US forces have almost daily on air blows against Houthi rebels, in a campaign meant to put an end to the attacks on civil and military vessels in the Red Sea and Aden Gulf.
The rebels began the attacks at the end of 2023, presenting them as a form of solidarity with the Palestinians from the Gaza strip.
“American forces have taken measures to eliminate this fuel source for Houthi terrorists supported by Iran and to have illegal income that have funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years,” the US Central Command (Centcom) in a press release.
“The objective of these attacks was to degrade the source of economic power of Houthi, which continues to exploit and cause great suffering to their fellow citizens,” the statement said.
According to Centcom, the ships “continued to provide fuel through the RAS port” even though Washington has rebellious Houthi in the category of foreign terrorist organizations. The US military command did not mention the source of the fuel.
The attacks of the Houthi rebels have prevented the passage of ships through the Suez channel, a vital route that is normally transit by about 12% of world maritime traffic, forcing many companies to make an expensive detour through the southernmost point of Africa.
The operation launched by the Trump administration against Houthi was marked by a real controversy in March, when a journalist was accidentally introduced into a high-ranking American official group to discuss war plans.
Houthi, part of the “resistance axis” of Iran
Houthi rebels declare part of the “resistance axis” that Iran runs against Israel, the United States and the West in a broader sense. Army groups like Hamas from the Gaza and Hezbollah strip are also part of it.
After the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023, Houthi rebels began to attack Israel with rockets and drones, but most were intercepted. Then, on November 19, 2023, they diverted a commercial vessel in the Red Sea, and have since launched dozens of rockets and drones on the commercial vessels in the region, according to the BBC.
Initially they claimed to attack only ships that are related to Israel, but many of the targets did not fit into this category.
As a response to the air blows that the US and the United Kingdom made on their positions, the Houthi rebels began to attack also dishes associated with owners or operators in the two countries.
