U.S. Kills Houthi Drone Expert in Iraq

 

U.S. forces unknowingly killed a Houthi drone expert in an airstrike in Iraq last week, multiple defense officials have told the Washington Post. 

Houthi commander and unmanned-systems expert Hussein Abdullah Mastoor al-Shabal was in a meeting with Iraqi militants in Musayib, Iraq last week when U.S. forces bombed the building. The Pentagon believes that the local militants were planning to attack American bases in Iraq, and it only became aware of al-Shabal's identity after the strike. 

The organization involved in the meeting, Kataib Hezbollah, is a part of the official Iraqi security establishment. It denied any plans to strike American forces, and said that the meeting was about using surveillance drones to protect religious pilgrims. 

Like the Houthis, Kataib Hezbollah receives backing from the government of Iran. Houthi forces have repeatedly used drones to attack merchant ships and warships off the coast of Yemen; the group has targeted more than 70 vessels with UAVs, USVs and missiles since last November, and many ships have been attacked multiple times. 

Russia tried to send arms to Houthis 

Last week, multiple sources informed CNN that the Russian government attempted to supply weapons to the Houthi faction, and only held off after pressure from the government of Saudi Arabia. Houthi attacks on shipping have upended global trade routes, raised rates for containerized freight, and killed or injured multiple seafarers, despite a U.S.-led campaign to suppress the attacks. The Kremlin wanted to help the Houthis in order to retaliate against the U.S. for aiding Ukraine, sources told CNN, despite the negative repercussions for all other nations that trade through the Red Sea. 

While diplomatic pressure was enough to convince Russia to hold off on giving arms to Houthi fighters, the U.S. military believes that Russia has dispatched advisors to Yemen. In late July, Houthi fighters declared a military exercise zone in the southern Red Sea, and several Russian ships stopped within the zone to rendezvous with a Houthi boat. Individuals disembarked from one of the Russian ships and boarded a Houthi launch, then headed for Yemen. 

Even without Russian help, Houthi units retain a powerful punch, even after months of combat with the U.S. Navy. On Saturday, the group struck a Greek-owned boxship with a ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden. On Monday, American forces thwarted multiple attempted attacks: U.S. Central Command shot down three UAVs over the Gulf of Aden, one UAV over Yemen, and one drone boat, one UAV and one anti-ship ballistic missile over the Red Sea.