(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On Jan. 31, around 10 unmanned suicide drones in Yemen, which were getting ready to be launched, were blown up by U.S. forces.
An anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis and three Iranian drones was also shot down in the Gulf of Aden by the USS Carney, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command. U.S. forces “struck and destroyed” the drones after determining that the unmanned drones “presented an imminent threat” to both U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels nearby.
The destruction of the drones comes after a cruise missile that was fired by the Houthis Jan. 30 at the USS Gravely in the Red Sea. The missile, which just missed hitting the ship by about one mile, was shot down by the ship’s defense system, the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System. According to a report, it is the first time the defense system has been used since “the U.S. began intercepting” the missiles.
Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel, Iran-aligned Houthi militants have been launching drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea as a show of support for the Palestinians. The attacks have not only caused trade between Europe and Asia to slow but have also caused concern that the Israel-Hamas war could become a regional conflict.
In response, British and U.S. forces have launched strikes on Houthi targets within Yemen and added the group to the list of “terrorist groups.”
For the first time since November 2019, U.S. forces also seized anti-ship cruise missiles and guidance, propulsion, and warheads for medium-range ballistic missiles on a dhow off the coast of Somalia during a Jan. 11 night-time mission. The shipment of Iranian weapons was bound for Yemen and appeared to be the same ones used by the Houthis to “threaten and attack innocent mariners” on ships in the Red Sea. Two Navy SEALs who were directly involved in the seizure were lost at sea during the mission.
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