Yemen
The Pentagon says it is investigating reports of attacks by Houthi rebels that also targeted two merchant ships
The Pentagon said it was investigating reports that a U.S. warship and some commercial vessels in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen were subjected to a drone attack that appeared to have been launched by Houthi rebels in the country.
“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 U.S. Department of Defense said in a brief statement Sunday afternoon.
Shortly afterward, the Houthis said they attacked two commercial vessels with an armed drone and a naval missile on Sunday. Two ships, Unity Explorer and Number 9, were targeted after they rejected warnings from the group’s navy, a spokesman said.
The group said the vessels were Israeli, although according to Maritime Traffic the Unity Explorer sails in the Bahamas and the No. 9 sails in Panama. Both are reported to be in the Red Sea area or to have recently been there.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the ships had “no connection to the State of Israel.”
He said: “One vessel has been significantly damaged and is in distress and appears to be in danger of sinking and another vessel has sustained minor damage.”
Yemen’s Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have launched multiple rocket and drone attacks on Israel since the Gaza war began on October 7. They are not believed to have caused any serious damage.
More recently, the rebel group has stepped up attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, which lies south of the Suez Canal, a strategic sea route between Europe and Asia and East Africa.
Two weeks ago, the Houthis released a dramatic video showing masked gunmen hijacking the Galaxy Leader, a British-Japanese-operated cargo ship, after landing a helicopter on deck. The group claimed it was owned by Israel, but there was no immediate evidence of this.
A week later, toward the end of November, a U.S. warship, the USS Mason, captured five raiders attempting to take control of Central Park, a commercial tanker carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid.
In the incident, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen at the general position 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 Portal that an unnamed bulk carrier was hit by at least two drones in the Red Sea. One company, Ambrey, said another container ship was damaged by a drone strike about 63 miles northwest of the northern Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
Previously, the British agency Maritime Trade Operations reported that it had received reports of a drone attack in the Bab el-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea between Yemen, Djibouti and Eriteria. The authority urged nearby ships to exercise caution.
In mid-October, the USS Carney shot down three ground-based missiles and several drones fired by Houthi fighters, the Pentagon said. At that time, the USA justified its actions by saying that the missiles were “potentially heading towards Israel”.
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