A US warship and several commercial ships were attacked this Sunday in the Red Sea, the Pentagon confirmed, which could mark a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East linked to the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We are aware of reports of attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Pentagon said.
The British Army previously confirmed that there had been a drone attack and that there had been explosions in the Red Sea.
The British Navy’s Maritime Commercial Operations (UKMTO) said in an alert that the attack occurred in the vicinity of Bab el Mandeb, near the coast of Yemen, and urged ships sailing through the area to “take precautions.”
Previously, the UKMTO said it had received reports of drone activity and “a possible explosion” that “originated from the direction of Yemen”, while also noting that an “entity claiming to be the Yemeni authorities” ordered a ship to change route.
So far the details of this new incident are unknown, although Arab media reported on the possible attack of a cargo ship flying the Bahamas flag and owned by Britain.
The Pentagon has not identified where the attacks had occurred from. However, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks on cargo ships ‘Unity Explorer’ and ‘Number 9’ as they transited the Red Sea.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech that the insurgents “carried out an operation against two Israeli ships” in the Bab el Mandab Strait, and identified the vessels as ‘Unity Explorer’, flying the flag of Bahamas, and ‘Number 9’, with the flag of Panama.
“The first ship was attacked with a naval missile and the second with a naval drone,” said the military spokesman, adding that the operation took place “after the two ships rejected warning messages” from the Houthis.
With the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis threatened “not to sit idly by” and have since launched a series of missile and drone attacks against Israel that have been intercepted by the state’s air defenses. Jewish or by United States warships.
Given the ineffectiveness of their attacks, the insurgents threatened to attack ships flying the Israeli flag or owned by Israeli companies transiting the Red Sea, one of the most important maritime trade routes in the world.
Likewise, American media point out that the Houthis have launched ballistic missiles in recent weeks near US destroyers in that area, while Washington has announced in recent days that it has intercepted several drones that were heading against their positions.
In mid-November, insurgents captured the vehicle-carrying freighter ‘Galaxy Leader’, which is owned by a British company but operated by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen (NYK Line), although it would be partially owned by an Israeli businessman.
