US WARSHIP ATTACKED: Pentagon responds to five-hour Red Sea strike

A US warship and multiple commercial vessels were attacked in the Red Sea on Sunday, the Pentagon said — a frightening development ratcheting up maritime tensions in the Middle East during the Israel-Hamas war.

The USS Carney — which previously shot down missiles and drones aimed at it as it escorted a commercial vessel through the war-torn region — was targeted along with at least two other commercial ships starting around 10am local time in an assault that lasted about five hours, the Pentagon and an unnamed US official said, according to The Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear whether the American warship was struck.

An update is expected soon from the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).
 

“We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

US officials did not identify where the military fire came from, although they added that the Carney shot down at least one drone Sunday.

A White House official seemed to downplay the incident to Fox News, saying that the American destroyer specifically did not come under attack in the Red Sea.

The US official further told Fox News there are no injuries or damage to the USS Carney.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels — who have proclaimed they would attack ships on the Red Sea over Israeli’s ground incursion into Gaza — later acknowledged that they had targeted two Israeli commercial ships Sunday but did not mention the US Navy vessel.
 

The rebel group claimed it had aimed for two commercial vessels, the Unity Explorer and Number Nine, because the ships “rejected warning messages” to get out of the region.

In a statement posted on social media, the Houthis said they carried out an “operation against two Israeli ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait”, a strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, targeting one with a “missile and the second ship with a drone”.

The group said it would continue to target Israeli vessels “until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops”.

At least one commercial vessel was known to be hit Sunday, a ship belonging to a British company owned by Danny Ungar, the son of billionaire Israeli shipping magnate Abraham “Rami” Ungar.
 

Earlier on Sunday, maritime security firm Ambrey said, citing reports, that an unnamed Bahamas-flagged vessel was “struck by a rocket” while sailing south around 35 nautical miles off Yemen’s western coast.

“The affected vessel was issuing distress calls relating to piracy/missile attack,” the UK-based company added.

It noted reports that “an international naval asset in the vicinity of the incident” was likely proceeding to the ship’s location.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said it had received “a report of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) activity including a potential explosion … originating from the direction of Yemen”.

It advised vessels in the area to “exercise caution”.
 

Ambrey said the targeted vessel — en route from the United States to Singapore — had transited the Suez Canal five days ago.

“The bulker was reportedly struck by a rocket and the crew retreated to the citadel,” it added.

“Numerous vessels passed the incident location today but no unusual manoeuvres were observed.”

UKMTO WARNING 001/ DEC/ 2023

INCIDENThttps://t.co/a6eYax4Zi0#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/l2NOZgflqU

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 3, 2023

The US Navy destroyer previously engaged with the rebel group on Wednesday when it took out a drone launched from Yemen, according to Fox News.

The ship had been sailing near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the time of last week’s attack, but there was no damage to the Carney or its crew.

Before last week’s attack, the USS Carney — an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer — had downed 15 drones and four cruise missiles in the Red Sea fired from Yemen.
 

Sunday’s attack against the destroyer and other commercial ships operating in the Red Sea came as the British military said a suspected drone attack and explosion had been carried out in the area.

Last week, Houthi rebels fired two ballistic missiles in the vicinity of the USS Mason as the warship responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker, the Central Park, being attacked by Somali pirates, the Pentagon said.

The Central Park was invaded by gunmen who fled when the Mason arrived. The Mason chased the attackers to the shores of Yemen.

Houthi rebels fired the missiles near the Mason, with the explosives missing the ship and landing along the Gulf of Aden.

The latest incidents come amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea and surrounding waters after Houthi rebels seized an Israeli-linked cargo vessel, the Galaxy Leader, last month.

The vehicle carrier was seized on November 19 along with 25 crew members of various nationalities including Bulgarian, Filipino, Mexican and Ukrainian, but no Israelis were on board.

NEW - Yemen's Houthis have released footage of yesterday's hijacking of a civilian ship in the southern Red Sea. pic.twitter.com/4cuSorwDrq

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) November 20, 2023

Israel condemned the seizure as an “Iranian act of terror” although officials insisted the ship was British-owned and Japanese-operated.

However, ownership details in public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Rami Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel.

The rebels still hold the vessel near the port city of Hodeida.

Before reports of an attack on a US warship in the Red Sea on Sunday, former Obama CIA director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke about how the US should respond to the increasing number of attacks by Iran’s proxy groups against US forces in the Middle East.

“I would be much more aggressive,” Mr Panetta said on Saturday evening at the Reagan National Defense Forum.

“I want to go after those who are firing missiles at our troops and make sure they understand that when they fire a missile — they are going to die.”
 

The Houthis had not directly targeted the Americans for some time, further raising the stakes in the growing maritime conflict.

In 2016, the US launched Tomahawk cruise missiles that destroyed three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory to retaliate for missiles being fired at US Navy ships, including the USS Mason, at the time.

The spike in maritime incidents prompted G7 foreign ministers at a meeting earlier this week to urge the rebels to cease threats to international shipping and to release the Galaxy Leader.

The Houthis have fired a series of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel since Hamas militants poured over the border into Israel on October 7, killing 1200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and began an air, sea and ground offensive that has killed more than 15,500 people, mostly women and children, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claims.

— with NY Post, Fox News and AFP