Saudi-led coalition strikes explosives-laden Houthi boat in Red Sea: report

Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen struck an explosives-laden boat in the southern Red Sea on Saturday, Saudi state television reported.

The remote-controlled boats had been deployed off the coast of the village of As-Salif in western Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition was quoted by state media as saying that it had "foiled an imminent attack" by the Sanaa-based Houthi group.

The coalition added that the Houthis “continue to threaten maritime shipping lines and global trade”.

Similar attacks were launched last week, when the coalition reported destroying two explosives-laden boats launched from the Red Sea port of Hodeidah.

Saudi-led forces and the Houthis have engaged in direct fighting since 2015, when Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen's war to restore the authority of Yemen's government.

Houthi rebels seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014, forcing the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi into exile.

From their strongholds in Sanaa and northern Yemen, the Houthis have launched attacks against the Saudi-led coalition and launched cross border drone strikes into Saudi Arabia.

Over 120,000 Yemeni civilians have been killed in Yemen's conflict and 10 million more are at risk of famine. The situation in Yemen has been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis by the UN.

Both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis have been accused of targeting civilians in Yemen by human rights groups.

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