U.S. Navy destroyer USS Kearny (DDG 64) sails into the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, July 14, 2019.
Jörg Iszyk | Reuters
A U.S. Navy ship shot down several Houthi drones after a merchant ship was attacked in the Red Sea. pentagon Sunday’s report came on the same day that Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced they had targeted two Israeli ships in the area.
“We are aware of reports of attacks on the USS Kearny and commercial ships in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Later that day, National Security Council officials said a preliminary assessment of the situation indicated that only the commercial vessel was targeted, not the Carney.
Defense officials said the attack, which lasted several hours and was believed to have been carried out by Houthi missiles, marks an escalation in the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war.
Carney was a US Navy destroyer. They observed a ballistic missile being fired at a commercial vessel named Unity Explorer, and then responded to a distress call from the vessel. While assisting the Unity Explorer, Carney destroyed another Houthi drone that was heading toward him and the Unity Explorer.
The Iranian-backed Houthis said in a statement on Sunday that they launched missile and drone attacks against two ships believed to be connected to Israel in the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait, also known as the Gates of Tears. announced that he had gone.
The Houthi statement did not mention attacks on US ships, only the Unity Explorer and Number Nine, both of which the group says have ties to Israel.
“Yemeni forces will continue to block Israeli ships from transiting the Red Sea and Arab Sea until Israel’s aggression against our loyal compatriots in the Gaza Strip stops,” the Houthis said.
Yemeni army is Before It warned that until the war in Gaza ends, any Israeli vessel or any entity associated with Israel would be a “legitimate target” for attack. In November, the organization announced it had captured an Israeli ship.
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