LONDON — A U.S. warship shot down 14 suspected assault drones over the Purple Sea on Saturday, and a Royal Navy destroyer downed one other drone that was focusing on industrial ships, the British and American militaries mentioned.
Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched a sequence of assaults on vessels within the Purple Sea, one of many world’s busiest delivery routes, and have launched drones and missiles focusing on Israel, because the Israel-Hamas conflict threatens to unfold.
U.S. Central Command mentioned that the destroyer USS Carney “efficiently engaged 14 unmanned aerial programs” launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The drones “have been shot down with no injury to ships within the space or reported accidents,” Central Command tweeted.
U.Ok. Protection Secretary Grant Shapps mentioned that HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone that was “focusing on service provider delivery.” The in a single day motion is the primary time the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial goal in anger for the reason that 1991 Gulf Struggle.
Shapps mentioned assaults on industrial ships within the international commerce artery by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “characterize a direct menace to worldwide commerce and maritime safety.”
“The U.Ok. stays dedicated to repelling these assaults to guard the free move of world commerce,” he mentioned in a press release.
HMS Diamond was despatched to the area two weeks in the past as a deterrent, becoming a member of vessels from the U.S., France and different nations.
International delivery has turn into a goal in the course of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which just like the Houthis is backed by Iran.
Houthi rebels mentioned they fired a barrage of drones on Saturday towards the port metropolis of Eilat in southern Israel. The announcement got here hours after Egypt’s state-run media reported that Egyptian air protection had shot down a “flying object” off the Egyptian resort city of Dahab on the Purple Sea.
Israeli-linked vessels even have been focused, however the menace to commerce has grown as container ships and oil tankers flagged to nations like Norway and Liberia have been attacked or drawn missile fireplace whereas traversing the waterway between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Earlier this month, three industrial ships within the Purple Sea have been struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen. A U.S. warship shot down three drones in the course of the assault, the U.S. army mentioned.
French container delivery line CMA CGM Group mentioned Saturday it had ordered all its vessels scheduled to cross by the Purple Sea to “pause their journey in protected waters with rapid impact till additional discover.”
On Friday Maersk, the world’s largest delivery firm, additionally instructed all its vessels planning to cross by the Bab el-Mandeb Strait within the Purple Sea to cease their journeys after a missile assault on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship. German-based shipper Hapag-Lloyd mentioned it was pausing all its container ship visitors by the Purple Sea till Monday.
Extra Should-Reads From TIME