US military: US destroyer attacked by drones in the Red Sea
"Today there were four attacks on three different merchant ships operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea," Centcom explained. The "Carney" had noticed a missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen that landed near the Bahamas-flagged freighter "Unity Explorer". The ship later reported minor damage from another missile.
The cargo ship "Number 9", which flies the Panamanian flag, reported damage from a missile from Yemen, while the "Sophie II", which also flies the Panamanian flag, said it was also hit but did not sustain any significant damage.
Centcom stated that the attacks posed "a direct threat to international trade and maritime security". "We also have every reason to believe that while these attacks are perpetrated by the Houthis in Yemen, they are fully supported by Iran," it added. The US would "consider all appropriate measures in full coordination with its international allies and partners", the military command announced.
The Houthi militia had previously claimed responsibility for attacks on the "Unity Explorer" and the "Number 9". It had carried out an operation against "two Israeli ships" in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Shiite militia stated in online networks. The ships had been attacked with a missile and a drone after they had rejected "warnings" from the Houthis.
The Bab al-Mandeb strait connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean and is of great importance for global maritime trade, particularly for the transportation of oil. The Houthi declared that they would continue to target Israeli ships as long as the "Israeli aggression against our brothers in the Gaza Strip does not stop".
Previously, Ambrey, the company responsible for maritime security, had reported rocket fire on a British freighter sailing under the flag of the Bahamas. The missile had hit the ship and the crew had fled to safety, it said in a statement. According to Ambrey, the ship belongs to a company owned by British citizen Dan David Ungar.
The UK Maritime Transport Office (UKMTO) had reported "drone activity, including a possible explosion" near the Bab al-Mandeb strait and advised ships to exercise increased caution.
The Iran-backed Huthi see themselves as part of the self-proclaimed "Axis of Resistance" directed against Israel. This also includes other Iranian-backed groups such as the radical Islamic Hamas and the Shiite Islamist Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas in response to the latter's brutal attack on Israeli territory, the Houthi militia has fired drones and missiles at Israel on several occasions.
On November 19, Houthi fighters also captured the car freighter "Galaxy Leader" and took its crew prisoner. According to the maritime security company Ambrey, the owner of the car freighter is Ray Car Carriers, whose parent company is owned by Israeli businessman Abraham "Rami" Ungar.
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Source: www.stern.de
