U.S. and Britain say their navies shot down 15 assault drones over the Purple Sea

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 stated.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched a sequence of assaults on vessels within the Purple Sea, one of many world’s busiest transport routes, and have launched drones and missiles focusing on Israel, because the Israel-Hamas struggle threatens to unfold.

U.S. Central Command stated that the destroyer USS Carney “successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems” launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The drones “were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” Central Command tweeted.

U.Ok. Protection Secretary Grant Shapps stated that HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone that was “targeting merchant shipping.” 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 Warfare.

Shapps stated assaults on industrial ships within the international commerce artery by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security.”

“The U.K. remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade,” he stated in an announcement.

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 transport has turn into a goal through the struggle between Israel and Hamas, which just like the Houthis is backed by Iran.

Houthi rebels stated 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 risk to commerce has grown as container ships and oil tankers flagged to nations like Norway and Liberia have been attacked or drawn missile hearth whereas traversing the waterway between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Earlier this month, three industrial ships within the Purple Sea had been struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen. A U.S. warship shot down three drones through the assault, the U.S. army stated.

French container transport line CMA CGM stated Saturday it had ordered all its vessels scheduled to move by means of the Purple Sea to “pause their journey in safe waters with immediate effect until further notice.”

On Friday Maersk, the world’s largest transport firm, additionally advised all its vessels planning to move by means of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait within the Purple Sea to stop their journeys after a missile assault on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship. German-based shipper Hapag-Lloyd stated it was pausing all its container ship site visitors by means of the Purple Sea till Monday.