The Pentagon has said it is investigating reports that a US warship and some commercial vessels in the Red Sea came under drone attack off the coast of Yemen, apparently launched by Houthi rebels in the country.
“We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the US Department of Defense said in a short statement on Sunday afternoon.
Shortly after, the Houthis said they had targeted two commercial ships on Sunday with an armed drone and a naval missile. Two vessels, Unity Explorer and Number 9, were targeted after they rejected warnings from the group’s navy, a spokesperson said.
The group said the ships were Israeli, although according to Maritime Traffic, Unity Explorer is flagged in a Bahamas and Number 9 is flagged in Panama. Both are recorded as being in the Red Sea area or having been there recently.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the ships had “no connection to the state of Israel”.
He said: “One ship was significantly damaged and it is in distress and apparently is in danger of sinking and another ship was lightly damaged.”
Yemen’s Houthis, who have the backing of Iran, have launched several missile and drone attacks on Israel since the start of the war in Gaza on 7 October. They are not thought to have inflicted any serious damage.
More recently, the rebel group has stepped up its targeting of commercial vessels sailing in the Red Sea, which lies south of the Suez Canal, a strategic naval route between Europe and Asia and east Africa.
A fortnight ago, the Houthis released dramatic video of masked gunmen seizing the Galaxy Leader, a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship, after landing a helicopter on deck. They group claimed it was owned by Israel but there was no immediate evidence to support this.
A week later, towards the end of November, a US warship, the USS Mason, seized five attackers who had tried to take control of the Central Park, a commercial tanker that had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid.
In the incident, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location 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 Reuters that an unnamed bulk carrier ship had been hit by at least two drones in the Red Sea. One company, Ambrey, said another container ship had reportedly suffered damage from a drone attack about 63 miles north-west of the northern Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
Earlier, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations agency said it had received reports of a drone attack in the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandab strait, between Yemen, Djibouti and Eriteria. The body called on vessels in the vicinity to exercise caution.
In mid-October, the USS Carney shot down three ground-launched missiles as well as several drones that were fired by Houthi militants, the Pentagon said. At the time, the US said the missiles were “potentially heading towards Israel” as justification for its action.
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