According to the Pentagon, an American warship and several merchant ships were attacked in the Red Sea
From
JON GAMBRELL Associated Press
December 3, 2023, 10:58 a.m. ET
• 3 min reading
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An American warship and several merchant vessels were attacked in the Red Sea on Sunday, the Pentagon said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels later claimed attacks on two ships they said were linked to Israel, but did not admit they had targeted a U.S. Navy ship.
The attack may have marked a significant escalation in a series of naval attacks in the Middle East linked to the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We are aware of reports of attacks on the USS Carney and merchant vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Pentagon told The Associated Press.
The Carney is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
The British military had previously said there had been a suspected drone strike and explosions in the Red Sea, without elaborating.
The Pentagon did not say where it believed the fire came from. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the first ship was hit by a missile and the second by a drone in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Saree did not mention that a US warship was involved in the attack. He said the attacks would continue as long as Israel continued its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have launched a series of attacks on ships in the Red Sea and fired drones and missiles at Israel during the war.
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the attack began around 10 a.m. in Sanaa, Yemen, and lasted up to five hours. Another U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said the Carney intercepted at least one drone during the attack.
Global shipping has come under increasing scrutiny as the war between Israel and Hamas threatens to become a larger regional conflict – even as a ceasefire briefly halted fighting and Hamas exchanged hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. However, the collapse of the ceasefire and the resumption of punishing Israeli air strikes and its ground offensive there had increased the risk of a resumption of naval attacks.
At the beginning of November, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship that was also linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen. The rebels are still holding the ship near the port city of Hodeida. Missiles also landed near another U.S. warship last week after it aided an Israeli-linked ship that was briefly hijacked by gunmen.
However, the Houthis had not directly targeted the Americans for some time, further increasing the risk of the worsening maritime conflict. In 2016, the US launched Tomahawk cruise missiles that destroyed three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory in retaliation for missiles fired at US Navy ships at the time.
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Associated Press writers Tara Copp in Dallas and Dana Beltaji contributed.