(Bloomberg) -- US Central Command said its forces destroyed three seaborne drones, an airborne drone and two cruise missiles in Yemen that were being prepared for attacks in the Red Sea.

The strikes on Monday marked the latest effort to avert further assaults on commercial shipping in the vital waterway by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group that controls much of the northwest of Yemen.

The drones and antiship missiles “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” Centcom said in a statement posted on the X social media platform. 

Earlier Monday, a South African company said a subsea cable that it controls off the coast of Yemen had been damaged, although the cause has yet to be determined. The cable connects Europe and India. 

The Houthis have made threats on social media to sabotage critical undersea cables, but there’s no evidence to suggest that they have been successful.

The Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which began in response to Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip, have continued despite a series of airstrikes by the US and UK.

--With assistance from Olivia Solon.

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