(Washington) The American army announced that it had shot down on Saturday, above the southern Red Sea, a drone and two missiles launched by the Yemeni Houthi rebels, during two separate interceptions.
No injuries or damage were reported by boats sailing in the area at the time of these incidents, the US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) said in a message on X.
The destroyed drone was shot down during the day, said the same source, adding that two other drones were damaged at sea.
In the evening, Centcom forces “successfully” intercepted two anti-ship ballistic missiles over the Red Sea, the same message continues.
The missiles “were fired in the direction of the USS Gravely (American destroyer) and were destroyed as part of self-defense, no damage or injuries were reported”, underlines Centcom.
The Houthis, who control large swaths of Yemen, have been carrying out attacks since November against ships they believe are linked to Israel. They claim to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a murderous war against Hamas in retaliation for the unprecedented bloody attack by this Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil on October 7.
Faced with Houthi attacks, the United States, Israel’s supporter, set up a multinational maritime protection force in December and carried out, sometimes with the help of the United Kingdom, strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. The latter have since expanded their attacks to ships linked to the United States or the United Kingdom.