Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis are playing an escalating role in the Middle East conflict, attacking shipping in the Red Sea and firing drones and missiles at Israel in a campaign they say is aimed at supporting the Palestinians in the Gaza war.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday announced the creation of a multinational operation to protect trade in the Red Sea in response to the Houthi attacks.
The Houthis' role has increased the regional risks of the conflict, threatening the sea lanes through which much of the world's oil is shipped and alarming Red Sea states as Houthi missiles and drones fly toward Israel.
Who are the Houthis?
HISTORY
In the late 1990s, the Houthi family in Yemen's far north launched a religious revival movement for the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, which had once ruled Yemen but whose northern heartland had become impoverished and marginalized.
As friction with the government grew, they fought a series of guerrilla wars with the national army and a brief border conflict with Sunni power Saudi Arabia.
GROWING POWER
Their power grew during the war in Yemen that started in late 2014, when they captured Sanaa. Concerned about Shiite Iran's growing influence along the border, Saudi Arabia intervened in 2015 at the head of a Western-backed coalition in support of the Yemeni government.
The Houthis established control over much of the north and other major population centers, while the internationally recognized government established itself in Aden.
Yemen has enjoyed more than a year of relative calm amid a UN-led peacekeeping operation. Saudi Arabia is holding talks with the Houthis in an attempt to end the war.
ROLE IN THE MIDDLE WAR
The Houthis waded into the latest conflict as it spread across the Middle East, announcing on October 31 that they had fired drones and missiles at Israel and vowing to continue attacking “until Israeli aggression stops”.
Their actions reflect the role of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has attacked Israeli positions on the Lebanese border, and Iraqi militias that have fired on US interests in Iraq and Syria.
The Houthis stepped up their threats, saying on December 9 that they would target all ships bound for Israel, regardless of nationality, and warning all international shipping companies against doing business with Israeli ports.
“If Gaza does not receive the food and medicine it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will become a target for our forces,” the Houthi spokesman said in a statement on 9 December.
The Houthis' slogan is 'Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews and Victory for Islam'.
IRAN-LEFT
The United States believes that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is helping to plan and execute the Houthi missile and drone attacks.
“Iran's support for Houthi attacks on commercial ships must stop,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on December 18.
Iran denies involvement.
The Saudi-led coalition has long accused Iran of arming, training and financing the Houthis. The Houthis deny they are an Iranian proxy and say they are developing their own weapons.
ARSENAL
The Houthis demonstrated their missile and drone capabilities during the war in Yemen with attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, targeting oil installations and vital infrastructure.
The arsenal includes ballistic missiles and armed drones that can strike Israel more than 1,000 miles away from their seat of power in Sanaa.
The Tofan, Borkan and Quds missiles are modeled on Iranian weapons and can hit targets up to 2,000 km (1,200 miles), experts say.
The Houthis fired these missiles at Saudi Arabia dozens of times during the war in Yemen. In September, the Houthis showed off anti-aircraft missiles, naval missiles, a MiG-29 fighter jet and helicopters for the first time.
The Houthis have also used fast boats armed with machine guns in their anti-shipping operations.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)