Date: Thursday, 07 March 2024
CAIRO –Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis carried out a “qualitative military operation in which they targeted two US warship destroyers in the Red Sea,” the group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech on Tuesday.
He said the ships were targeted with a number of naval missiles and drones.
The US Central Command later said US forces shot down one anti-ship ballistic missile and three one-way attack unmanned aerial systems launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the USS Carney in the Red Sea.
US forces later destroyed three anti-ship missiles and three unmanned surface vessels in self-defence, Centcom said in a statement.
Meanwhile, container ship MSC Sky II was continuing its voyage to Djibouti on Tuesday after being hit by a missile a day earlier near Yemen’s port city of Aden, its operator MSC said.
MSC Sky II was hit by a missile about 137 kilometres southeast of Aden and 273 kilometres east-southeast of the Bab al-Mandab Strait while it was sailing from Singapore to Djibouti, the Swiss-headquartered MSC said in a statement.
“The missile caused a small fire that has been extinguished while no crew were injured. She is currently continuing her journey to Djibouti and will arrive today for further assessment,” it said.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Yemeni Houthi forces had attacked the Liberian-flagged MSC Sky II while it was en route to Djibouti.
“I am not aware that either Switzerland, Liberia or Djibouti have ever participated in any way in the ongoing conflict in Gaza,” Crosetto said on X.
The attack is among the latest strikes by the Iran-aligned Houthis which have been ratcheted up since November. The Houthis have said they are targeting commercial ships in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
While the militia has said it would attack vessels with links to the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel, shipping industry sources said all ships were at risk.
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