Houthis rebels attacking ships in the red sea

 

A November 24, 2021 file photo shows Houthi fighters attending the funeral of fellow rebel fighters killed in fighting with forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government, in Sanaa, Yemen.

The Houthis are a Shiite Muslim sect with roots that date back centuries in Yemen. Members of the religion are a minority in Yemen, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim, but they are a significant one, numbering in the hundreds of thousands and making up as much as a third of the overall population.

The Houthi rebels, who have a significant supply of ballistic missiles and Iranian-made attack drones, claim to be targeting ships belonging to Israel or the country's Western allies. U.S. warships in the region have shot down a growing number of attack drones launched from Yemen in recent days — including more than a dozen taken down on Dec. 16 alone.