The Yemeni rebels' attacks are directed against Israel and Israel-affiliated ships. (Representative)
Washington:
An American destroyer shot down two anti-ship missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday while responding to a call for help from a container ship that was hit in a separate attack, the US military said.
The missiles were fired from an area controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post, describing it as “23. “illegal Houthi attack on international shipping” since November 19th.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships in the vital Red Sea shipping route in attacks they say are supporting Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is fighting the Palestinian group Hamas.
CENTCOM said the USS Gravely and USS Laboon – both destroyers – responded to a request for assistance from the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged, Danish-owned and operated container ship, which reported being struck by a missile while transiting the Red Sea to have been hit.
As they responded, the Gravely fired the missiles, which were fired “in the direction of the ships,” it said.
The attacks by Yemeni rebels, which they said targeted Israel and Israel-linked ships, are endangering a transit route that handles up to 12 percent of global trade and prompted the United States to set up a multinational naval task force earlier this month to deal with the Protect shipping in the Red Sea.
The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian group launched a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7, killing about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
After the attack, the United States provided immediate military assistance to Israel, which has waged a relentless campaign in Gaza that has killed at least 21,672 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled territory's health ministry.
These deaths have sparked widespread anger across the Middle East and provided impetus for attacks by armed groups opposed to Israel across the region.
US forces in Iraq and Syria have also come under repeated attack from drone and missile attacks that Washington says are carried out by Iranian-backed armed groups.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)