A United States warship and several commercial ships were attacked this Sunday in the Red Sea, in the Middle East, according to the Pentagon.
According to ABC News, a Pentagon official noted that the destroyer Carney “shot down several drones heading in its direction from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen”
“In at least two circumstances,” the official added to the chain, the Carney successfully shot down unmanned aerial vehicles “that were heading in its direction.”
The Pentagon briefly confirmed that they were aware of reports about “attacks on the USS Carney and commercial ships in the Red Sea” and that they would provide more information as it becomes available, according to US media.
The official told ABC News that “that a ballistic missile fired from the Houthis in Yemen landed in the vicinity of a merchant ship in the Red Sea and that the USS Carney was nearby and responded to the ship’s distress call.”
ANDNo injuries were reported in the incident. the officer pointed out.
The attack on the destroyer Carney marks a significant escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East related to the war in Gaza between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
This same Sunday, the British Navy reported “an attack by unmanned aerial systems” in the Red Sea, specifically in the vicinity of Bab el Mandeb, near the coast of Yemen, and urged ships sailing through the area to “take precautions”..
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Also today, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks against the cargo ships “Unity Explorer” and “Number 9” while they were transiting the Red Sea, the scene of growing tension over the war in the Gaza Strip.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech that the insurgents “carried out an operation against two Israeli ships” in the Bab el Mandab Strait, and identified the vessels as the “Unity Explorer,” flying the flag of Bahamas, and “Number 9”, with the flag of Panama.