Why are people blaming Yemen’s Houthis for cutting the Red Sea cables?

Questions swirled after four cables were cut; some observers say it may be the Houthis, others say it was an accident.

Beirut, Lebanon – Officials in the United States say undersea telecommunications cables in the Red Sea were cut on Tuesday, disrupting 25 percent of data traffic between Asia and Europe.

A US official told the BBC they were attempting to find out if the cables had been sabotaged or if it was the result of an anchor dragging along the seafloor.

But what are these cables? Who put them there? How important are they?

Here’s everything you need to know about the world of undersea cables.