CENTCOM says shot down Yemeni anti-ship missile heading to Red Sea

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
31 Jan 2024 03:01

The US Central Command claims the US Navy warship USS Gravely shot down an anti-ship missile fired from Yemen.

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and other warships crosses the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. (Information Technician Second Class Ruskin Naval/U.S. Navy via AP)

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed in a statement that a US Navy warship shot down Tuesday an anti-ship missile fired from Yemen toward the Red Sea.

According to CENTCOM, "the missile was shot down by USS Gravely (DDG 107)," and no injuries or damage were reported.

On Jan. 30, at approximately 11:30 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired one anti-ship cruise missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Red Sea. The missile was shot down by USS Gravely (DDG 107). There were no injuries or damage reported. pic.twitter.com/Wf1OhwPhhW
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 31, 2024

On Monday, the Commander of the US Fifth Fleet, Charles Bradford Cooper, highlighted that once Ansar Allah's missiles and drones are launched, they could reach their target in the Red Sea within 75 seconds. In response, US forces have only a brief window of 9 to 15 seconds to decide and take action to intercept and shoot down a missile or drone launched by Ansar Allah, as per Cooper.

This came shortly after the spokesperson of the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced that the YAF targeted US Navy warship Lewis B Puller sailing through the Gulf of Aden.

Saree specified that the warship was involved in providing logistical support for the US forces waging aggression against Yemen, among other missions.

"The operation is part of the military measures taken by the Yemeni Armed Forces in defense of the Yemeni people and as part of the commitment to support the oppressed Palestinian people," Saree added.

Concluding his statement, Saree reaffirmed the YAF's commitment to enforce a blockade on Israeli navigation in the Red Sea until a ceasefire is achieved in Gaza and the siege enforced on the people of Gaza is lifted.

US threats via Omani backchannels will not deter Yemen: al-Houthi

Earlier on Tuesday, the member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, said that the United States had threatened to mobilize "fronts" against Yemen via Omani backchannels.

In a post on X, al-Houthi said that expanding the scope of engagement in the region is one among many other threats made by the US against the Yemeni people via Omani officials.

The official said that any American "endeavors or folly" will end in failure, adding that the Yemeni people who took the morally and ideologically-driven decision of supporting the Palestinian people, "will not be deterred" from "their mission [of supporting] Gaza."

In this context, the Minister of Defense in the Sanaa government, Major General Mohammad Nasser al-Atifi, warned the United States and Britain against attempting to militarize the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.

He reiterated that navigation in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea is "secured and stable" for all destinations around the world, except for those ships heading to Israeli-occupied ports in Palestine and Israeli-owned, US-owned, and UK-owned ships.

He confirmed that the Yemeni people "will not be intimidated by internationally prohibited American missiles and bombs," and fleets, aircraft carriers, and destroyers will not deter them from fulfilling their duties towards Palestine, especially in the face of the ongoing aggression.