A US destroyer “operating in the northern Red Sea” on Thursday shot down three surface-to-surface missiles and several drones “likely headed towards targets in Israel” launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Pentagon announced.
The US Department of Defense said during a press conference that no casualties had been reported among sailors on the USS Carney or among civilians on land “to our knowledge.”
The Iranian-backed Houthis took control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in 2014, igniting a war against government forces that left hundreds of thousands dead, displaced millions, and plunged the country into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The interception of these drones and missiles comes in the context of Washington’s growing fears of Tehran’s direct involvement in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, which has already caused the deaths of several thousand people.
In Iraq, US military authorities said that drone attacks against US forces and the international coalition in Iraq were “thwarted” on Wednesday and the planes were “shot down,” causing minor casualties. In recent days, Iraqi armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack American interests in Iraq because of Washington’s support for Israel.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Saturday that the United States will send a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean, in order to “deter hostile actions against Israel or any effort to expand this war.”
