DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Commercial ships came under attack Sunday by drones and missiles in the Red Sea and a U.S. warship there opened fire in self-defense as part of an hourslong assault claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said.
The attack potentially marked a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war as multiple vessels found themselves in the crosshairs of a single Houthi assault for the first time in the conflict.
“We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Defense Department told The Associated Press.
The Carney is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer that’s already shot down multiple rockets the Houthis have fired toward Israel so far in the war. It wasn’t damaged in the attack and no injuries were reported on board, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss early details of a military operation.
Recent developments:
- The attack potentially marks a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
- The British military also reported an explosion off the coast of Yemen in the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait
- Last week, the U.S. military said a U.S. Navy warship sailing near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait shot down a drone launched from Yemen.
- Before that, a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean.
Israel-Hamas War today:
- In Gaza, Israel has ordered more evacuations in and around Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Youni. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said they were running out of places to go in the sealed-off territory that borders Israel and Egypt
