An American destroyer shot down three drones while providing assistance on Sunday to commercial ships in the Red Sea targeted by attacks from Yemen, said Washington, which denounced “a direct threat” to maritime security.
Earlier, Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced they had carried out an “operation” against “Israeli ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait” – a strategic waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden – in retaliation for the war waged by the Israeli army against Palestinian Hamas in Gaza.
” Today [dimanche]there were four attacks on three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea,” the US military Middle East Command (Centcom) said in a statement.
“The destroyer […] USS Carney responded to the ships’ distress calls and provided them with assistance, shooting down three drones that were heading toward the warship during the day, it said.
The destroyer detected a missile, fired from an area of Yemen controlled by the Houthis, which ended up near a Bahamas-flagged ship, the Unity Explorer. The cargo ship then reported minor damage from another missile coming from a rebel-held area.
The Number 9, a Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier, reported being damaged by a missile from Yemen, without reporting any casualties. The Sophie II, of the same flag, indicated that it had also been hit, without suffering significant damage.
For Centcom, these attacks represent “a direct threat to international trade and maritime security”.
“We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, although launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are entirely financed by Iran,” Centcom said.
“The United States will consider all appropriate responses in close coordination with its international allies and partners. »
Ships attacked
The Houthi rebels’ claim only mentions the attack on two boats – the Unity Explorer and the Number 9 -, one targeted with a “missile”, the other “with a drone”, indicates the press release, after that the buildings “rejected warning messages” from the Houthis.
The rebels will continue targeting Israeli ships “until Israeli aggression against our brothers in the Gaza Strip ceases”, they said.
Earlier on Sunday, the maritime security company Ambrey reported that a British cargo ship had been hit by rocket fire in the Red Sea, “about 34.5 km west-northwest of Mocha, in Yemen.
“The crew would have retreated” to a secure area of the boat, added the maritime security company.
According to Ambrey, ownership and management of the attacked vessel was linked to Dan David Ungar, a British citizen listed as an Israeli resident in the UK’s main business directory.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO indicated that it had received a report concerning the activity of a drone, “including a potential explosion”, “near Bab el-Mandeb”, coming from Yemen. She had advised ships in the area to “exercise caution”.
Increased tensions
These incidents come against a backdrop of increased tensions in the Red Sea after Houthi rebels seized the merchant ship Galaxy Leader with its 25 crew members on November 19.
The Galaxy Leader belongs to a British company which is itself owned by an Israeli businessman.
The rebels are part of what they describe as an “axis of resistance” against Israel, along with groups supported by Iran, such as Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah.
They launched a series of drones and missiles towards Israel and many of the devices were intercepted by Israeli defenses or American warships.
The increase in maritime incidents has prompted the foreign ministers of the G7 countries (United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan) to urge the rebels to stop threatening international navigation and to free the Galaxy Leader and his crew, during a meeting held last week.