WASHINGTON – Iran-backed forces in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at a US warship early Monday after the Navy responded to a distress call from an Israeli-linked commercial tanker that had been hijacked by Somali pirates, the Pentagon said.
The commercial tanker, known as the Central Park, issued a distress call late Sunday saying its crew was “under attack by an unknown entity” after five gunmen boarded the vessel in the Gulf of Aden, according to a US Central Command statement.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason responded to the call, along with US armed helicopters and Japanese destroyers, while the crew of the Central Park holed up in the ship’s Citadel safe room.
“Upon arrival, coalition elements demanded the release of the ship,” CENTCOM said in its statement. “Subsequently, five armed individuals detained the ship and tried to escape using their small boat.”
Mason chased the attackers – later found to be Somali pirates – as they returned to the Yemeni coast. There, the five individuals surrendered and Navy personnel arrested them, taking them for questioning under anti-piracy authorities.
Yemenis walk with banners with the Palestinian flag and the words written in Arabic “Ribut Al-Quds” in an exhibition held on the roadside of Al-Sabeen Square in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Getty Images The Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Mason conducts divisional tactical maneuvers as part of Commander, Task Force 55’s exercise in the Gulf of Oman. Reuters
But as Mason “concluded his response,” Houthi militants in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at Mason at 1:41 a.m. Monday, according to CENTCOM. The missile landed in the Gulf of Aden about 10 nautical miles from the ship. No one was injured in the explosion.
The Central Park crew survived the incident. The vessel operates under the management of Zodiac Maritime, an international shipping company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group.
US and Japanese ships were not the only vessels in the region that could respond to Central Park’s distress calls. Three Chinese naval vessels around the ship chose to ignore 59 distress calls from Israeli-related vessels, Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. General Patrick Ryder said.
Houthi fighters boarded a military vehicle, passing near a large billboard depicting Yemen’s Houthi movement leader Abdul Malek Badr al-Dain al-Houthi in Al-Sabeen Square. Getty Images Yemenis loyal to the Houthi movement gather near US and Israeli flags painted on the ground in solidarity with Palestinians in Al-Sabeen Square on November 22, 2023. Getty Images
“The security of the maritime domain is critical to regional stability,” CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement. “We will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure the safety and security of international shipping lanes.”
Mason had been in the region as part of the Eisenhower carrier strike group deployed after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. US officials said the ships were sent to prevent outside actors – including Iran – from escalating the conflict.
Attackers hijacked a tanker linked to Israel off the coast of Aden, Yemen, on Sunday, November 26, 2023, authorities said. AP
The attempted ballistic missile attack by Houthi forces represents the latest in a string of attacks by Iran-backed militant groups on US forces in the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war began. Other attacks have been launched against US and coalition forces at military bases in Iraq and Syria.
Since October 17, there have been 73 attacks on US forces in the region, Ryder said, adding that there have been no ground attacks since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire began on November 23. Although dozens of soldiers have been injured, most of the cases are minor.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
