A United States destroyer was able to shoot down a missile and drones that Houthi rebels from Yemen launched toward it in the Red Sea.
On Wednesday, officials made the announcement at the same time that the navy from India released images of them fighting back a fire on a container ship that the Houthis had targeted earlier that day.
The attack, launched on Tuesday, was targeted the USS Carney, which is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that has been part of the U.S. campaign against the Houthis. The rebel group, backed by Iran, has launched various attacks on ships in the Red Sea as a protest to Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip against the terrorist group Hamas.
According to the Central Command of the U.S. military, the attack the Houthis launched included drones that were carrying bombs as well as an anti-ship ballistic missile.
Central Command also said that the U.S. was able to launch an airstrike that destroyed the three drone boats that were carrying bombs and the three anti-ship missiles as well.
The attack was acknowledged by a military spokesman for the Houthis, Brigadier General Yahya Saree. However, they claimed that they were targeting two U.S. warships, though they wouldn’t elaborate more on that.
Saree further said that the rebel group “will not stop until the aggression is stopped and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
Saree also didn’t acknowledge the airstrikes that the U.S. launched. They haven’t released an assessment of the overall damage they have suffered in strikes that the U.S. began to lead back in January.
The group has said, though, that at least 22 of its fighters have lost their lives during these attacks.
The rebels began attacking ships in the crucial Red Sea in November, as well as the waters surrounding it. They haven’t seemed to be too careful about which ships it targets, either, as one was later proven to have cargo that was bound for its backer, Iran, as well as an aid ship that was going into territory that is controlled by the Houthis.
The U.S. has led airstrikes on Houthi targets for nearly two months now, but the rebels continue to show they’re capable of launching attacks that do significant damage.
One that happened in February involved a ship carrying fertilizer that sank after it drifted for multiple days. Another involved the Houthis downing an American drone that’s valued at millions of dollars.
The Indian navy also released the footage of sailors from the INS Kolkata fighting a fire on the MSC Sky II. It was traveling in the Gulf of Aden Monday when the Houthis targeted it.
Smoke was pouring out of one of the containers that was on the vessel, and there were scorch marks visible from where the Houthi missile impacted the ship.
According to the Mediterranean Shipping Co., which is based in Switzerland, it was traveling to Djibouti from Singapore.
