(Washington) A US destroyer operating in the Red Sea on Saturday shot down 14 drones launched from “areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis”, said the US military Command in the Middle East (Centcom).
The drones “were identified as attack drones” and were “shot down without causing any damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” Centcom said on X.
The operation, led by the destroyer USS Carneytook place “in the early hours of Saturday” local time, he said, and “the region’s partners in the Red Sea were warned of the threat.”
Houthi rebels, close to Iran, have warned that they will target ships sailing off the coast of Yemen and with links to Israel, in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. .
In recent weeks, several missiles and drones have been shot down by warships patrolling the area.
The American destroyer USS Carney had already shot down three drones about two weeks ago while providing assistance to commercial ships in the Red Sea targeted by attacks from Yemen.
UK Defense Minister Grant Shapps also said a British destroyer had shot down a “suspected attack drone targeting shipping in the Red Sea” overnight from Friday to Saturday.
The giant CMA CGM, the leading French maritime carrier, announced on Saturday that it was suspending, like the Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd groups, the crossing of the Red Sea by its container ships after these attacks.