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The US military shot down a drone early Saturday over the Red Sea in international waters near several merchant ships, the Pentagon said.
US Central Command said in a social media post on Saturday that “an unmanned aerial vehicle launched from areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis was shot down in self-defense” by the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. No one was injured. The incident took place in the southern part of the Red Sea “in the vicinity of numerous merchant ships”, it said.
The Laboon is part of an aircraft carrier strike group deployed to the region shortly after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, having previously shot down drones believed to have been fired by the Houthi rebels.
The incident came just days after a group of 12 countries led by the US warned Houthi rebels in Yemen not to continue their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Rebels have launched more than 100 drone and missile strikes against targets in the Red Sea and Israel since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to Pentagon figures. The Houthis say they are targeting Israel and Israeli-affiliated vessels to demand an end to the offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is fighting Hamas militants. The attacks threaten a transit route that carries up to 12 percent of the world’s trade, prompting the US to create a multinational naval group to protect shipping in the Red Sea. /BGNES
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2024-01-06 20:45:00
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