A US destroyer shot down three drones on Sunday while providing assistance to commercial ships in the Red Sea targeted by attacks from Yemen. The attack, confirmed by Washington, was claimed by the Houthi rebels who support Hamas.
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With our correspondent in New York, Loubna Anaki
The attacks took place in the southern Red Sea, at the entrance to the strait. Three merchant ships were targeted by ballistic missile fire. Two of them, a Bahamas-flagged vessel and another Panama-flagged, launched distress signals which were intercepted by a US warship patrolling the area.
According to a Pentagon official quoted by the American press, once there, the USS Carney shot down at least three drones without suffering damage. These attacks were immediately claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who spoke of an operation against two Israeli ships, without mentioning the American destroyer.
Houthi rebels who support Hamas have vowed to attack Israeli ships or ships belonging to Israel’s allies in retaliation for the war in Gaza. They have already carried out numerous attacks with drones and ballistic missiles, but this is the first time that several ships have been targeted in such a short interval, according to the Pentagon.
American military authorities speak of a “ direct attack on maritime security and international trade “. A situation which increases fears of a widening of the conflict in the region.