Yemeni authorities say Houthi naval mine found in Bab al-Mandab
Mohammed Sameai and Rania Abushamala
22 August 2026•Update: 22 August 2026
Yemeni authorities said Saturday that a naval mine planted by the Houthi group was discovered in a vital area of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
A naval unit affiliated with the government-aligned National Resistance Forces “managed to eliminate the danger of a naval mine planted by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Bab al-Mandab,” the official Saba news agency quoted an unnamed military source as saying.
The mine was found in a “vital area of the international shipping lane” before naval forces disabled it and took the necessary measures to eliminate the threat, the source added.
The source described the mine’s presence as “a dangerous development in Houthi threats to the security of navigation” in one of the world’s most important maritime passages.
The Houthis did not immediately comment on the report.
Earlier Saturday, the government-aligned National Resistance Forces said they destroyed a Houthi bomb-laden boat in Bab al-Mandab, without providing further details.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in support of the internationally recognized government in March 2015.