Amid a series of attacks in the Red Sea, the United States defence forces struck more than a dozen drone attacks and several missiles fired by Houthi rebels. According to the Pentagon's Central Command, there was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries. It said over a dozen drones, at least three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land-attack missiles over a period of 10 hours.
"U.S. assets, including the USS LABOON (DDG 58) and F/A-18 Super Hornets from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, shot down twelve one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles, and two land attack cruise missiles in the Southern Red Sea that were fired by the Houthis over a 10 hour period which began at approximately 6:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) on December 26. There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries," it said in an X post.
Flurry of drone attacks
The matter escalated after the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen hijacked an India-bound shipping vessel in the Red Sea earlier last month. Notably, the Houthis, an ally of Tehran, have been launching long-range missile and drone salvoes at Israel in support of Palestine. The Houthi leader said his forces would make further attacks on Israel and they could target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Iran's Al-Arabiya News reported.
However, Iran rejected the claims and asserted it was an independent act of Yemen's Houthi rebels. In a press conference, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said that Israel has accused Tehran of diverting the attention from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Despite the denial, the commercial vessel passing through the Red Sea witnessed a flurry of attacks, prompting some of the shipping giants to cancel their orders. In fact, the Pentagon claimed the rebels have executed over 100 drone and missile strikes, aiming at 10 merchant vessels from more than 35 diverse nations. This prompted the Biden administration to establish a multinational naval task force to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea.
