The Iran-backed Houthi insurgency in Yemen has abducted another nine United Nations employees, raising the total number of U.N. personnel detained by the group over the past four years to 53. The Houthis, known for their hostility toward Western nations and Israel, have not explained the latest round of kidnappings or revealed where the employees are being held.
The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents in Yemen have announced so-called “sanctions” against 13 major American oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Marathon Petroleum. The announcement was made Tuesday through the group’s “Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center,” a front used by the militants to issue threats under the guise of diplomatic language.
A dramatic video shown at a congressional hearing this week appears to show a U.S. Hellfire missile fired from a military drone striking a glowing orb—only for the object to remain completely unaffected. The footage, recorded by a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper off the coast of Yemen on October 30, 2024, has triggered a firestorm of online speculation and raised new questions about unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs).
The United States has condemned a deadly wave of Houthi rebel attacks on civilian cargo vessels in the Red Sea, warning that Iran-backed militants in Yemen continue to pose a serious threat to global maritime security. The attacks resulted in the sinking of a Liberian-flagged vessel and the deaths of at least three mariners.
