DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit three merchant vessels in the Red Sea on Sunday, while a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the hours-long attack, the U.S. military said. The Iran-backed Houthis claimed two of the attacks.
The attacks marked an escalation in a series of sea attacks in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war, as multiple ships found themselves in the crosshairs of a single Houthi attack for the first time in that conflict. The US promised to “consider all appropriate responses” after the attack and particularly targeted Iran after tensions had been high for years over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
“These attacks pose a direct threat to international trade and maritime security,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement. “They have endangered the lives of international crews from multiple countries around the world.”
It added: “We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, although launched by the Houthis in Yemen, were entirely enabled by Iran.”
The attack began around 9:15 a.m. local time (06:15 GMT) in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, Central Command said.
The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, detected a ballistic missile fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen at the Bahamian-flagged bulk carrier Unity Explorer. The US said the missile hit near the ship. Shortly afterward, the Carney shot down a drone that was coming toward it, although it is not clear whether the destroyer was the target, Central Command said.
About 30 minutes later, the Unity Explorer was hit by a missile. As the Carney responded to her distress call, she shot down another incoming drone. Central Command said the Unity Explorer sustained minor damage from the missile.
Two other merchant ships, the Panamanian-flagged bulk carriers Number 9 and Sophie II, were both hit by missiles. The No. 9 reported some damage but no casualties, and the Sophie II reported no significant damage, Central Command said.
As the Carney departed to support the Sophie II at around 4:30 p.m. local time (13:30 GMT), it shot down another drone flying in its direction. The drones caused no damage.
The Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, shot down several rockets fired at Israel by the Houthis during that country’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It was not damaged in any of the incidents and no injuries were reported on board. The Defense Department initially described the attack as merely an attack on the Carney before providing further details.
Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed two of Sunday’s attacks, saying the first ship was hit by a missile and the second by a drone while it was in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is the Red connects the sea with the Gulf of Aden. Saree did not mention that a US warship was involved.
“Yemeni forces continue to prevent Israeli ships from entering the Red Sea (and the Gulf of Aden) until Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip ceases,” Saree said. “The Yemeni Armed Forces reiterate their warning to all Israeli vessels or those associated with Israelis that they will become a legitimate target if they violate the statements of this statement.”
Saree also identified the first ship as the Unity Explorer, owned by a British company whose officers include Israel resident Dan David Ungar. The number 9 is associated with Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.
The Sophie II’s owner, Kyowa Kisen of Imabari, Japan, told the Associated Press that the ship’s crew was safe and the ship suffered no serious damage. Managers of the other two ships could not immediately be reached for comment.
Israeli media identified Ungar as the son of Israeli shipping billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar.
Iran has not yet directly addressed the attacks. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian threatened that “if the current situation continues, the region will enter a new phase of the Israel-Hamas war.”
“All parties that want to start a war are warned before it is too late to stop the killing of women and children, which has begun a new round,” Amirabdollahian said.
Iran’s top diplomat described his comments as coming from talks with “resistance forces” in the region – a description Tehran uses for the Shiite militias it supports, including groups in Iraq, the Houthis and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as well as the Sunni fighters of Hamas. All of them threatened or attacked Israel, Iran’s regional arch-rival, during the war.
The Houthis have launched a series of attacks on ships in the Red Sea and fired drones and missiles at Israel. Analysts say the Houthis are hoping to bolster dwindling popular support after years of civil war in Yemen between them and Saudi-backed forces.
While the U.S. does not say its naval ships were attacked, it does say Houthi drones flew toward the ships and were shot down in self-defense. Washington has so far refused to respond directly to the attacks, as has Israel, whose military continues to try to label the ships as unaffiliated with their country.
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 retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Gaza and a ground offensive there had increased the risk of further sea attacks.
In November, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship 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. Additionally, a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire was recently attacked in the Indian Ocean by a suspected Iranian drone.
The Houthis had not directly targeted the Americans for some time, further raising the stakes in 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, Lolita C. Baldor in Washington, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Dana Beltaji contributed to this report.