A US Navy warship shot down several missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen – potentially headed for Israel, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer operating near the northern part of the Red Sea, downed three land attack cruise missiles and several drones heading north, Brig. Gene. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary confirmed.
“This action is a demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture we have built in the Middle East and we are prepared to use it when necessary to protect our partners and our interests,” Ryder told reporters Thursday.
US officials decided to shoot down the projectile after determining it “posed a potential threat,” Ryder said, noting the military was trying to assess the target.
“We can’t say for sure what these missiles and drones were targeting, but they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea, potentially towards targets in Israel,” Ryder continued.
The USS Carney shot down a projectile from Iran-backed Houthi forces, the Pentagon said Thursday.AP The US military has experienced a dust-up in the Middle East amid heightened tensions over the Israel-Hamas conflict. US NAVY/MC2 JACOB MATTINGLY HANDOUT/EPA -EFE/Shutterstock
The Houthis are mostly Shia Zaidi Muslims, and are aligned with Tehran, which is a Shia-majority theocracy.
The US has backed Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen aimed at giving its government full territorial control of the country, as the Houthis fight to break away and rule the country.
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The Houthis are very sympathetic to the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel. Last week many people took to the streets waving the Palestinian flag.
US officials fear that Iran will target American or Israeli forces through its various proxies in the region.ZUMAPRESS.com Iranian protesters are seen setting American and Israeli flags on fire.Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthis, has warned the US not to intervene in the conflict engulfing the Jewish state.
Meanwhile, President Biden, who visited Israel on Wednesday, warned Iran to stay out of the conflict.
“We’re moving the US carrier fleet to the eastern Mediterranean and we’re sending more fighter jets to that region — and making it clear to Iran: Be careful,” Biden warned shortly after the war in Israel broke out.
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Biden has ordered two US aircraft carriers – the USS Ford and the USS Eisenhower – and their strike forces to the Mediterranean Sea in a show of force as the conflict escalates.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, right, meets with a delegation of Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 19.AP
Thursday’s shelling comes after other military clashes in the region. On Wednesday, two drones were spotted in Syria near where US troops are stationed, according to the Pentagon.
One was destroyed and the other crashed into the al-Tanf garrison in Syria. Earlier the same day, a warning system went off indicating a threat near the al-Asad airbase where US troops are based, but no attack took place.
And on Tuesday, the US military shot down three drones near American forces in Iraq, Ryder said.
“Our focus will continue to be on making sure we prevent the potential for a wider regional conflict,” Ryder stressed.
President Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in person on Wednesday. ZUMAPRESS.com
Biden is set to address the nation from the Oval Office during a speech at 8pm ET.
Since Hamas’s October 7 surprise terror attack in Israel, more than 5,000 people on both sides have died, including at least 30 Americans, according to officials.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
