U.S. intercepts and shoots down Houthi missile aimed at Navy destroyer in Red Sea
U.S. fighter aircraft intercepted and shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired by Yemen-based Houthi rebels in the direction of a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said late Sunday.
And a missile fired from Yemen in a separate incident struck an American-owned commercial ship named Eagle Gibraltar in the nearby Gulf of Aden, a U.K. maritime agency and private security firm said Monday.
Both incidents followed U.S. and U.K. airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen last week that heightened fears the Israel-Hamas war could lead to a wider war in the Middle East involving the U.S. and its Western allies.
The Houthi missile that was fired toward the USS Laboon came from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, U.S. Central Command said in a brief statement. No injuries or damage were reported.
The U.S. commercial ship, which is Marshall Islands-flagged and owned by Connecticut-based firm Eagle Bulk, was "hit from above by a missile" but remained seaworthy, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency, which cited the ship's captain. The ship's name and ownership were identified by Ambrey Limited, a U.K.-based security firm and risk consultancy.
The incident with the U.S.-owned ship is still being investigated and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion immediately fell on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
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The Houthis are a rebel group financed, trained and supplied militarily by Iran, Israel's arch-enemy. They are also allies of Hamas and have been targeting Red Sea maritime traffic since November in an act of solidarity with Palestinians in reaction to Israel's military campaign in Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7. attacks.
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The Houthi attacks have caused delays to global supply chains because major shipping companies have diverted their ships away from the Red Sea. Instead, they have been taking a longer route around southern Africa.
The U.S. and U.K. militaries attacked 28 Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday including radar installations, drones, arms depots, logistics hubs and anti-ship missiles. On Saturday, the USS Carney, a guided missile destroyer, followed these strikes up by firing Tomahawk land attack missiles at a Houthi radar site in Yemen.
The strikes come as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized following complications from a surgery for prostate cancer. He was released Monday and expected to make a full recovery.
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Austin was rushed by ambulance from his home in the Virginia suburbs of Washington to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on Jan. 1 in severe pain.
Austin had developed an infection and intestinal blockage after surgery on Dec. 22 for prostate cancer. He had kept his diagnosis and hospitalization secret for days from the White House, Congress and the public.