Houthis fire missile at US warship

British-linked tanker also comes under attack in Gulf of Aden

FE Team | Published: January 27, 2024 20:58:32

JERUSALEM, Jan 27 (AP/BBC): Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a missile Friday at a U.S. warship patrolling the Gulf of Aden, forcing it to shoot down the projectile, and struck a British vessel as their aggressive attacks on maritime traffic continue.
The attack on the U.S. warship, the destroyer USS Carney, marked a further escalation in the biggest confrontation at sea the U.S. Navy has seen in the Middle East in decades, as Houthi missile fire set another commercial vessel ablaze Friday night.
Early Saturday local time, U.S. forces conducted a strike against a Houthi anti-ship missile that was aimed into the Red Sea and prepared to launch, U.S. Central Command said.
The Carney attack represents the first time the Houthis directly targeted a U.S. warship since the rebels began their assaults on shipping in October, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity because no authorization had been given to discuss the incident.
Later Friday, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Operations, which oversees Mideast waterways, acknowledged a vessel had been struck by a missile and was on fire in the Gulf of Aden.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree did not acknowledge the Carney attack, but claimed the missile attack on the commercial vessel that set it ablaze. He identified the vessel as the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Marlin Luanda.
CentCom, in a statement late Friday, confirmed the Marlin Luanda was struck by a single anti-ship ballistic missile fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen. The Carney and other coalition ships responded and were rendering assistance toward the stricken ship. CentCom said no injuries were reported.
The Houthis' now direct attacks on U.S. warships are the most aggressive escalation of its campaign in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. The U.S. has tried to temper its descriptions of the Houthis' strikes, and said it is difficult to determine what exactly the Houthis are trying to hit in part try to prevent the conflict from becoming a wider regional war.
The U.S. and allies had also held off for weeks on striking Houthi weapons sites in Yemen, but they are now taking regular action, often destroying launch sites that are armed but have not fired, and are deemed an imminent threat.
Meanwhile, a tanker with links to the UK is on fire in the Gulf of Aden after a being hit by a missile fired by the Houthis. The Yemeni movement said it targeted the Marlin Luanda on Friday in response to "American-British aggression".
The US and UK have launched air strikes on Houthi targets in response to attacks on ships in the Red Sea region. The US military said the Iran-backed group hit the tanker with an anti-ship ballistic missile and naval ships had responded to its distress signal.
The operator of the vessel is registered as being Oceonix Services Ltd, a UK registered company. The tanker flies under the flag of the Marshall Islands and is operated on behalf of Trafigura - a multinational trading company domiciled in Singapore.
Trafigura said the strike caused a fire in one of the ship's cargo tanks and firefighting equipment was being used to contain it. No injuries were reported.
It is the latest attack on commercial shipping by the Houthis in and around the Red Sea. The group says it is targeting vessels in the region in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is fighting Hamas.
In a statement, a Houthi spokesperson claimed the Marlin Luanda was a British ship and was targeted in response to "American-British aggression against our country".
The UK government said attacks on commercial shipping are "completely unacceptable" and that Britain and its allies "reserve the right to respond appropriately".