French navy shoots down two drones over Red Sea

Paris, Feb 21 (IANS) The French Navy has shot down two aerial drones from Yemen over the Red Sea where Houthi attacks have targeted international commercial vessels, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces said.

"During the night of February 19-20, the French Multi-Mission Frigates detected multiple drone attacks from Yemen in their respective patrol zones in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea. Two drones were destroyed," said the Ministry on Tuesday in a statement.

The French Navy's operation contributed to the objective of the operation launched by the European Union, the statement added.

On Monday, Brussels announced that it launched a naval mission, codenamed "ASPIDES", meaning shield in Greek, in the Red Sea and the Gulf regions to safeguard its commercial and security interests, Xinhua news agency reported.

France has deployed the Alsace, a frigate with air defence capabilities, and the Languedoc, an anti-submarine frigate, in the zone, reported French media.

On Saturday, the Houthi military said it would continue launching missile attacks against Israel-linked commercial vessels and Israel-bound ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and would only stop if Israel halts its aggression on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.