Politics

Yemen coalition says it foiled planned Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping

The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government said on Monday that its naval forces carried out an operation in Hodeidah governorate, in the country's west. According to the coalition, the strike destroyed weapons depots, explosive-laden boats and sea mines, and disrupted a Houthi plan for imminent attacks on a waterway in the southern Red Sea. It said the aim was to protect navigation security around the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

روسيا اليوم (RT Arabic)Tuesday, October 6, 2026, 00:10Covered by 2 sources

Illustrative photo: Container ship sailing on open dark blue sea under scattered clouds. Photo by Juho Luomala on Unsplash

Why it matters

Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world's key trade and energy corridors, so any threat to it can affect shipping through the Suez Canal and maritime transport costs. The account so far comes from the coalition alone, so its details remain to be borne out.

Background

Yemen is in an armed conflict between the internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthi group. Hodeidah governorate lies on the Red Sea coast in the west of the country. The Bab al-Mandab strait is a sea passage linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

How outlets covered it

Both outlets based their reports on the coalition's own announcement, and the excerpts provided contain no independent confirmation of it. RT Arabic put the phrase "a Houthi plan for imminent attacks" in quotation marks in its headline, and its text details what was reportedly destroyed: weapons depots, booby-trapped boats and naval mines. CNN Arabic's headline stressed the aim of "protecting navigation security at Bab al-Mandab"; it noted that the coalition is Saudi-led and that the announcement came on Monday. Its text refers to "waterways south of the Red Sea" and, in the available excerpt, does not list the types of weapons destroyed.