U.S. ship shoots down drones in Red Sea, Central Command says
The ship responded to distress calls about attacks on commercial vessels, the U.S. said. At least one drone appeared to launch from a Houthi-held area of Yemen.
Centcom said in a statement. “We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.”
Yahya Sarea, the Houthi military spokesman, said in a televised address that the attack was launched in solidarity with Palestinians.
“We renew our warning to all Israeli ships or those associated with Israelis that they will become a legitimate target if they violate the statements of our armed forces,” Sarea said.
Israel has no connection to the vessels involved in the incidents, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told Reuters.
U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have faced near-daily assaults from rocket fire and one-way attack drones since Israeli operations in Gaza began, recording at least 76 attacks since Oct. 17, according to data provided by a U.S. defense official who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of ongoing operations.
The United States has responded at times, including airstrikes targeting militants in Iraq after a close-range ballistic missile attack on Nov. 20, the first use of such weapons in this stretch of attacks.