US Military Claims Success In Shooting Down Drones And Houthi Missiles In The Red Sea

Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group while sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. (Wikimedia Commons/US Navy Mass Communication Specialist/Kenneth R. Hendrix)

JAKARTA - The United States confirmed the country's Navy successfully shot down a number of Houthi-group drones and missiles in the Red Sea.

American troops intercepted "12 one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two ground-based cruise missiles in the southern Red Sea fired by the Houthis for 10 hours," the US Centcom said in a statement.

"There were no injuries or damage to the ship in the surrounding area," Centcom added.

The US Centcom further explained that all the Houthi drones and missiles were shot down by assets from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, which were sent to the region to counter an increase in attacks by Iran-backed Yemeni rebel groups, following the outbreak of Israel's war against Hamas.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Houthi military spokesman confirmed the group had launched a missile attack on the MSC United Commercial ship, which was on its way from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan at the time of the attack.

As before, the group said its actions in the Red Sea were a response to Israel's war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis have been a growing threat in the Red Sea, the global major trade corridor, since the Israel-Hamas war erupted as a result of militant group attacks to the south of Israel.

They have stepped up attacks on a number of ships over the past few months, with focused attacks on Israeli ships or ships bound for Israel.

Last week, the United States announced the establishment of a multinational maritime task force involving a number of countries in the world, in response to the group's attack on the Red Sea.