Pentagon knows who’s responsible for Jordan drone attack
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A British-owned cargo ship has been attacked in the Red Sea this morning, just days after the UK and the US jointly launched a fresh bout of airstrikes targeting Houthis in Yemen.
The ship suffered minor damage after being hit by a projectile while scaling off the coast of Yemen’s Hodeidah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
The US military, just hours before, conducted a strike in self-defence against two Houthi drones in Yemen after a drone attack hit a base housing US troops in Syria.
“US forces identified the explosive USVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to US navy ships and merchant vessels in the region,” US Central Command said in a post on X.
Earlier, six Kurdish fighters were killed in a drone attack that hit the training ground at al-Omar base in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour, the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said.
It accused “Syrian regime-backed mercenaries” of carrying out the attack. No casualties were reported among US troops.
Antony Blinken heads to Egypt
US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Tuesday will meet president Abel Fattah El-Sisi in Egypt to hold talks seeking an “enduring end” to the crisis in Gaza.
This is Mr Blinken’s fifth visit to the Middle East since the onset of Israel’s war in Gaza, which began in October last year.
On Monday, Mr Blinken met Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed “regional coordination to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza”, said state department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Mr Miller said they spoke about the “urgent need to reduce regional tensions”.
What to know about the situation in the Middle East this week
The United States and Britain have struck Iran-backed armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, while Israel presses ahead with its offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Here is what to know about what is happening in the region now, and why:
On Friday, the US struck Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the killing of three American soldiers at a US base on the Syria-Jordan border. At the same time, Washington emphasized that it doesn’t want to escalate the conflict with Iran into outright war.
US troops maintain a presence in the area to fight the Isis. They returned to Iraq in 2014 after the extremists overran much of the country’s north and started a genocidal campaign against the Yazidis, a religious minority.
More here.
In Pics: Houthis hold military exercise
Houthis hold military exercise amid escalating attacks on Red Sea shipping
Houthis hold military exercise amid escalating attacks on Red Sea shipping
Houthis hold military exercise amid escalating attacks on Red Sea shipping
US warships fire on Houthi drones over Red Sea
The US military has released video of American warships firing on Houthi drones.
Footage shared to X, formerly Twitter, by US Central Command (CENTCOM) showed missiles being fired from USS Gravley, USS Carney and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. It then showed a fighter jet taking off from a warship in the Red Sea.
According to CENTCOM, at approximately 10.30am (Sanaa time) on 2nd February, USS Carney shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the Gulf of Aden, near Yemen. At 9.20pm F/A-18s from the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier engaged and shot down seven UAVs over the Red Sea.
Watch: US warships fire on Houthi drones over Red Sea
The US military has released video of American warships firing on Houthi drones. Footage shared to X, formerly Twitter, by US Central Command (CENTCOM) showed missiles being fired from USS Gravley, USS Carney and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. It then showed a fighter jet taking off from a warship in the Red Sea. According to CENTCOM, at approximately 10.30am (Sanaa time) on 2nd February, USS Carney shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the Gulf of Aden, near Yemen. At 9.20pm F/A-18s from the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier engaged and shot down seven UAVs over the Red Sea. The US and UK, supported by six Allied countries, struck at least 36 Houthi targets in Yemen just hours after the US conducted retaliatory airstrikes on more than 85 sites in Iraq and Syria due to the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan.
Blinken returns to Mideast in push for hostage deal and postwar plan for Gaza
US secretary of state Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday on his fifth visit to the region since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, hoping to press ahead with a potential cease-fire deal and postwar planning while tamping down regional tensions.
But on all three fronts he faces major challenges: Hamas and Israel are publicly at odds over key elements of a potential truce.
Israel has dismissed US calls for a path to a Palestinian state, and Iran’s militant allies in the region have shown little sign of being deterred by US strikes.
In Gaza, meanwhile, Hamas has begun to re-emerge in some of the most devastated areas after Israeli forces pulled back, an indication that Israel’s central goal of crushing the group remains elusive.
Video footage from the same areas shows vast destruction, with nearly every building damaged or destroyed.
More here.
Video: US vessels join strikes on Iran-backed Houthis
British cargo ship hit by projectile in Red Sea
A British-owned cargo ship has been attacked in the Red Sea this morning, two days after the UK and the US jointly launched a fresh bout of airstrikes targeting Houthis in Yemen.
The ship suffered minor damage after being hit by a projectile while scaling off the coast of Yemen’s Hodeidah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
The ship, located 57 nautical miles west of Hodeidah, said a projectile was fired at its port side and a small craft was seen on its port side.
The projectile passed over the deck and caused slight damage to the bridge windows, the UKMTO note said after receiving the report just after midnight.
The Barbados-flagged general cargo ship incurred physical damage from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while sailing south east through the Red Sea, according to maritime security firm Ambrey.
No injuries were reported, the ship performed evasive manoeuvres and continued its journey.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
US vows more strikes against Iran-backed rebels in Middle East
The US has vowed to take more retaliatory action targeting Iran-backed militants in the Middle East following the death of three US troops in Jordan.
The US military launched its offensive in Iraq and Syria over the weekend in retaliation against the attacks on its bases. It separately targeted the Houthis in Yemen amid the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea.
“Part of the purpose of these strikes is to take away capabilities from the Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria that are attacking our forces,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC News.
The strikes had a “good effect” in degrading the capabilities of the militias and the Houthis, he said.
“There will be more steps. Some of those actions will be seen, some may not be seen.
“There will be more action taken to respond to the tragic death of the three brave US service members.”
US defends rights to counter-attack as Russia slams Biden administration at UN
Russia and the US sparred at the UN Security Council on Monday over Washington’s latest bout of attacks targetting Iran-backed militants in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the US of violating international law and continuing “to sow chaos and destruction in the Middle East”.
US ambassador Robert Wood countered that America had an absolute right to self-defence against attacks on its forces and that the actions it had taken were “necessary and proportionate”.
He told the council that since 18 October, Iran-backed militia groups have attacked US and coalition forces over 165 times in Iraq and Syria. A drone attack on a Jordanian facility hosting US forces fighting Isis extremists on 28 January killed three US army members and injured many more.
The US responded with 85 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria this month which both countries claimed resulted in civilian deaths, injuries and property destruction.
Those countries condemned the attacks as violations of their sovereignty – as their ambassadors did again at Monday’s council meeting.Mr Wood stressed that the US doesn’t want more conflict in a region where it is “actively working to contain and de-escalate the conflict in Gaza”.
“And we are not seeking a direct conflict with Iran,” Mr Wood said, adding: “But we will continue to defend our personnel against unacceptable attacks. Period.”
He accused Iran of failing “to rein in its extremist proxies”.
US and Russia clash at UN over Middle East attacks
Russia, the closest ally to the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, used a UN Security Council meeting last night to accuse the US of attacking Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria in order to preserve Joe Biden’s image ahead of the US elections this year.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the US of violating international law and continuing “to sow chaos and destruction in the Middle East”.
He said violence by the US and its allies has escalated from the Palestinian territories to Lebanon, the Red Sea and Yemen and is “nullifying international efforts to reestablish peace in the Middle East”.
The Russian ambassador claimed the US was attempting “to flex muscles ... to justify and salvage the image of the current American administration ... in the light of the upcoming presidential pre-election campaign”.
And he claimed the Americans were undertaking military action in an effort “at any price to preserve their dominating position in the world”.
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2024-02-06 08:30:02Z
CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3Mvd29ybGQvbWlkZGxlLWVhc3QvdXMtdWstcmVkLXNlYS1hdHRhY2tzLWhvdXRoaXMteWVtZW4tc3lyaWEtYjI0OTEyMTIuaHRtbNIBAA
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