Three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea, the US military said Sunday, as Yemen’s Houthi group claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area.
“Today there were four attacks against three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the Southern Red Sea,” the statement from the US Central Command reads. “We have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.”
The Carney, a US destroyer, responded to distress calls and provided assistance following missile and drone launches from Houthi-controlled territory, according to US Central Command.
Yemen’s Houthi movement said its navy had attacked two Israeli ships, Unity Explorer and Number 9, with an armed drone and a naval missile. A spokesperson for the group’s military said the two ships were targeted after they rejected warnings, without elaborating.
In a broadcast statement, the spokesperson said the attacks were in response to the demands of the Yemeni people and calls from Islamic nations to stand with the Palestinian people.
The US military said the Carney shot down three drones as it helped the commercial vessels. It was not clear if the warship was a target.
It said the attacks were a threat to international commerce.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the ships had “no connection to the state of Israel”.
He said: “One ship was significantly damaged and it is in distress and apparently is in danger of sinking and another ship was lightly damaged.”
Yemen’s Houthis, who have the backing of Iran, have launched several missile and drone attacks on Israel since the start of the war in Gaza on 7 October. They are not thought to have inflicted any serious damage.
More recently, the rebel group has stepped up its targeting of commercial vessels sailing in the Red Sea, which lies south of the Suez Canal, a strategic naval route between Europe and Asia and east Africa.
A fortnight ago, the Houthis released dramatic video of masked gunmen seizing the Galaxy Leader, a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship, after landing a helicopter on deck. They group claimed it was owned by Israel but there was no immediate evidence to support this.
A week later, towards the end of November, a US warship, the USS Mason, seized five attackers who had tried to take control of the Central Park, a commercial tanker that had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid.
In the incident, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of the two ships, but landed 10 nautical miles away in the Gulf of Aden, the US military said.
On Sunday, maritime security specialists told Reuters that an unnamed bulk carrier ship had been hit by at least two drones in the Red Sea. One company, Ambrey, said another container ship had reportedly suffered damage from a drone attack about 63 miles north-west of the northern Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
Earlier, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations agency said it had received reports of a drone attack in the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandab strait, between Yemen, Djibouti and Eriteria. The body called on vessels in the vicinity to exercise caution.
In mid-October, the USS Carney shot down three ground-launched missiles as well as several drones that were fired by Houthi militants, the Pentagon said. At the time, the US said the missiles were “potentially heading towards Israel” as justification for its action.
Reuters contributed to this report
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC8yMDIzL2RlYy8wMy91cy13YXJzaGlwLWluLXJlZC1zZWEtcmVwb3J0ZWRseS1hdHRhY2tlZC1ieS1kcm9uZXMtZnJvbS15ZW1lbtIBAA?oc=5
2023-12-03 18:22:00Z
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