The American destroyer USS Carney passes through the Suez Canal on November 26, 2023, en route to the Red Sea (US Department of Defense / Aaron Lau)
The US military announced on Tuesday that it had intercepted numerous drones and missiles in the southern Red Sea fired by the Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group supported by Iran which said it had targeted a boat as well as Israel.
The United States patrols this strategic region of the globe alongside an international coalition to protect maritime traffic from attacks by the Houthis, who say they are in solidarity with Palestinian Hamas in its war against Israel in the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, US armed forces deployed in the region “downed 12 attack drones, 3 anti-ship ballistic missiles and 2 cruise missiles in the southern Red Sea, fired by the Houthis” in a period of “approximately 10 a.m.,” the US Middle East Command (Centcom) said.
Some interceptions were carried out by combat aircraft operating from the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier present on site, Centcom said.
“There was no damage to the boats present in the area and no injuries were reported,” Centcom said in a statement published on X (formerly Twitter).
– Israel targeted –
Earlier in the day, the Houthi rebels assured in a statement that they had “carried out a targeted operation against a commercial ship” identified as the MSC UNITED, and had launched “drones against military targets” in southern Israel.
The Israeli army said it had intercepted “a hostile aerial target” heading towards its territory.
Since the start of the war on October 7 between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, the Houthis have increased attacks in the Red Sea against ships off the coast of Yemen with alleged links to Israel, in solidarity with Gaza.
In recent weeks, several missiles and drones have been shot down by American, French and British warships patrolling the area.
According to the Pentagon, the Houthis, who control entire swaths of Yemeni territory, including the capital Sanaa, have already launched around a hundred drone and missile attacks, targeting a total of 10 merchant ships involving more than 35 countries.
Iran is “very involved in the planning” of attacks carried out by the Houthis in the Red Sea, the White House said on Friday.
Graphic showing where ships reported damage in the Red Sea, around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, in December (AFP / Olivia BUGAULT)
These attacks, which threaten to disrupt the flow of global maritime trade on a strategic route, have pushed the United States to set up a multinational maritime protection force in the Red Sea.
Earlier on Tuesday, explosions were heard and missiles seen near a ship in the Red Sea, near Hodeida, a rebel-held port in western Yemen, the agency said British maritime safety agency UKMTO, without reporting any casualties or damage.
Two other explosions sounded shortly before near another ship, again off the coast of Hodeida, without reporting any damage or casualties, according to the British maritime agency. The boat continued its journey.