More than 100 US military advisers are in Saudi Arabia helping the kingdom with intelligence and targeting as it battles Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, five sources familiar with the operations told CNN.The US personnel are working under a joint forces command established in recent weeks, amid concerns that Iran is increasing its support for Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. One US official put the number of American troops involved at about 200.The deployment comes as fighting intensifies across the Arabian Peninsula and threatens to widen into a broader conflict. It also raises fears that another major shipping route out of the Middle East could be disrupted.
US provides battlefield targeting support
The US military has helped Saudi Arabia use a system that gives commanders a real-time view of battlefield developments, one US official told CNN. The official compared it with the Pentagon’s Maven system.Another source familiar with the cooperation said Washington was providing “geospatial” targeting support for Saudi strikes against the Houthis.The assistance is being provided as the Houthis expand their operations along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Military sources said the group seized the port city of Mocha on Thursday and moved towards strategic islands, including Hanish.Yemeni government military sources said the advances had given the Houthis greater leverage over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern entrance to the Red Sea and one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.The Houthi-run humanitarian operations coordination centre said Red Sea navigation remained safe for all shipping companies except Saudi vessels. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said the operations were defensive and would stop once attacks on Yemen ended.
Shipping routes face fresh risk
Saudi Arabia has relied more heavily on the Red Sea route since fighting involving Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.If the Houthis were able to restrict traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb, Iran could gain a major strategic advantage by threatening a second key route for oil and other supplies. Such disruption could also push energy prices higher.Brent crude rose by as much as 4% on Thursday to around $105 a barrel amid concerns about shipping and supply.Tensions were also evident in Saudi Arabia, where civil defence authorities issued emergency alerts in the south-western city of Khamis Mushait for the fourth time in 24 hours as Houthi attacks continued.Meanwhile, Pakistan has conveyed a Saudi warning to Iran to rein in its Houthi allies, according to Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian sources.A senior Iranian official confirmed that Islamabad delivered the message to Tehran on Tuesday. Iran responded that “Iran does not control the Houthis”.Pakistan said on Thursday that there had been no discussions about a military response under the Mecca agreement following the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. It added, however, that Pakistan would act when the “time comes”.
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