Saudi-led coalition says it foiled boat attacks in Yemen

The Saudi-Led coalition destroyed three explosives-laden boats in the Yemeni province of Hodeidah that had been readied for imminent attacks, the Saudi state-news agency said on Wednesday.

The coalition added that its efforts helped to protect the shipping lanes and international trade in the Bab al-Mandab strait and the southern Red Sea, the agency quoted a statement as saying.

The coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing forces of the ousted government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the Iran-aligned Houthis.

The conflict has dragged on, killing tens of thousands, including in coalition air strikes, and causing what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Reporting by Mahmoud Mourad and Alaa Swilam; Editing by Jon Boyle and Giles Elgood