US CENTCOM claims destroyer intercepted 14 drones from Yemen
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The drones were shot from Ansar Allah in Yemen, completely disregarding warnings from the Biden administration to cease their operations on ships in the Red Sea and against "Israel."
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A screengrab from a Yemeni Military Media video from 2021 depicting Yemeni-made drone models from one of the military exhibitions in Sanaa (Military Media)
On Saturday morning, a US missile destroyer in the Red Sea shot down 14 drones fired from Ansar Allah in Yemen, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed, adding that regional allies had been notified of the incident.
CENTCOM announced on X that "the US Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS CARNEY (DDG 64), operating in the Red Sea, successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems launched as a drone wave."
In the early morning hours of December 16 (Sanna time) the US Arliegh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS CARNEY (DDG 64), operating in the Red Sea, successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems launched as a drone wave from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The UAS were… pic.twitter.com/Rjkzng5LxW
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 16, 2023
Two US officials recently stated that the Biden administration has conveyed messages to the Yemeni Armed Forces in Yemen through various channels, cautioning them to cease their operations on ships in the Red Sea and against "Israel."
The operations in Yemen have posed a threat to Israeli and Israeli-affiliated ships sailing one of the key commercial shipping routes in the region, in solidarity with Palestine.
Maersk suspends Red Sea container traffic due to Yemen threats
The world's second-largest shipping company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, announced, on Friday, the suspension of all container traffic through the Red Sea until further notice. This decision comes in response to an attack by the Yemeni Armed Forces on its container ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Thursday.
Simultaneously, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced that their Naval forces carried out a military operation against the Maersk Gibraltar cargo ship, which was en route to the Israeli occupation entity.
In a statement, the Yemeni Armed Forces confirmed that the ship was targeted with a drone, adding that a direct hit was confirmed after the Maersk Gibraltar's crew refused to respond to warning calls from the Yemeni Naval Forces. The company claimed that the ship was not impacted by the attack.
It is worth noting that Maersk announced last week that it will start imposing a new risk surcharge on container shipments heading to "Israel" starting next year, citing the need to cover rising insurance premiums due to the unstable security situation.
In addition, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree publicly announced that the Yemeni Naval Forces targeted the MSC Alanya and the MSC PALATIUM III with anti-ship missiles, dealing direct hits to the two vessels, on Friday.
