A U.S. destroyer shot down two anti-ship missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday while responding to a distress call from a container ship hit in another attack, the military said.
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The missiles were fired from an area controlled by Houthi rebels near Iran, US Central Command (Centcom) said on social media.
According to Centcom, the destroyers USS Gravely and USS Laboon responded to a request for assistance from Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-flagged Danish container ship that reported being hit by a missile in the Red Sea.
During that relief operation, the USS Gravely fired missiles that were fired “in the direction of American military vessels,” Centcom added.
Since the war began on October 7 between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have carried out increased attacks in the Red Sea against ships they consider “affiliated with Israel” in solidarity with the Palestinian territory. consider bombed and besieged.
As Israel's first ally, the United States joins other countries in patrolling this strategic area of the world in an international coalition to protect maritime traffic from Houthi attacks.