The American army, which has been present in the region since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, intercepted three rockets and several drones that “may” be heading towards Israel. According to the Pentagon, they were launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen who were backed by Iran.
An American destroyer “operating in the northern Red Sea” shot down three surface-to-surface missiles and several drones “potentially heading toward targets in Israel” on Thursday that were fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Pentagon said .
“To our knowledge,” no injuries were reported among the sailors of the USS Carney or among civilians on the ground, US Department of Defense spokesman General Pat Ryder said at a news conference.
The ship was patrolling the Red Sea as part of the increased military presence of the United States in the region, which Joe Biden decided after the outbreak of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas on October 7, which has already left several thousand dead.
Iranian involvement?
According to General Ryder, the missiles likely crashed offshore after being intercepted.
“We cannot say for sure what these missiles were aimed at, but they were fired from Yemen and traveled north along the Red Sea,” he said.
The Iran-backed Houthis seized control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014, sparking a war against government forces that has left hundreds of thousands dead and displaced millions, plunging the country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The interception of these drones and missiles comes amid increasing Washington fears of Tehran’s direct involvement in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In Iraq on Wednesday, drone strikes against American forces and the international coalition in Iraq were “foiled” and the planes were “shot down,” causing minor injuries, American military authorities said. Armed Iraqi groups close to Iran have threatened in recent days to attack American interests in Iraq because of Washington’s support for Israel.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Saturday that the United States would send a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to “deter hostile actions against Israel or any attempts to expand this war.”
On Tuesday, the Pentagon also announced that about 2,000 U.S. military personnel had been placed on alert for possible deployment to the Middle East in support of Israel. However, a White House spokesman immediately made it clear that it was primarily a “signal of deterrence” and not combat troops.