Aden (South24 Center)

Naval and Coast Guard units of the National Resistance Forces destroyed two Houthi boats and forced a third to flee during a clash in the Red Sea on Thursday (August 13), according to a military media outlet affiliated with the forces.

The “2 December” news agency, the media arm of the National Resistance Forces, said the clash erupted after three Houthi boats were detected in the Red Sea. It described the vessels as manned and laden with explosives. The forces destroyed two of the boats, while the third fled toward international waters.

According to the agency, one of the two boats was struck by a Kornet missile and was carrying equipment used to launch drones. It said the Houthi personnel aboard the vessel were killed, without specifying their number.

The agency did not disclose the exact location of the clash or say whether the third boat sustained damage before fleeing. South24 Center could not independently verify the circumstances of the confrontation or the reported Houthi casualties.

The incident comes less than a month after the naval forces of the National Resistance Forces announced that they had intercepted a group of armed Houthi boats attempting to approach Zuqar Island from the direction of the international shipping lane in the Red Sea on July 19. According to reports by Yemen’s official Saba news agency and Anadolu Agency, the boats withdrew northward toward the Al-Faza area after being intercepted.

The National Resistance Forces, led by Presidential Leadership Council member Tariq Saleh, maintain naval and Coast Guard units along parts of Yemen’s western coast and around the Hanish and Zuqar islands near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

On Tuesday (August 11), Houthi forces attacked the Egyptian cargo vessel Tihamah in the Bab Al-Mandab Strait. Four crew members and two Yemeni rescuers affiliated with the National Resistance Forces were killed, while 10 others were wounded.

The Houthis said the vessel was carrying Saudi military equipment.