December 11, 2009: Off the Yemen coast, Saudi warships recently destroyed two boats that were attempting to smuggle weapons to Shia Yemeni rebels along the Saudi-Yemen border. The two boats refused to halt when ordered to, and attempted to flee. Saudi patrol boats and helicopters fired on the two boats, which exploded, indicating they were carrying munitions and explosives, along with weapons. The crews of the two boats were killed in the explosions.
For nearly a month now, Saudi Arabian warships have been maintaining a blockade on Yemen's Red Sea coast, to prevent Iranian arms smugglers from getting weapons to the Shia rebels fighting in northern Yemen. On October 26th, Yemeni patrol boats in the Red Sea, seized an Iranian ship, carrying weapons, apparently meant for the Yemeni rebels. It is believed that Eritrea, just across the Red Sea from Yemen, is a base for the smugglers trying to get weapons to Yemen. Eritrea is also an ally of Iran, and serves as a base for shipping weapons to Islamic terrorists in Somalia as well.
