MITHILA RAHMAN TUSI
Yemen's Houthi rebels fired a rocket at an American destroyer in the Red Sea, but it was shot down by a US fighter jet in the latest attack to upset the global spread of Israel's conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, authorities said.
Sunday's attack marked the first US-recognized fire by the Houthis since the US and partner nations launched an offensive against the dissidents following a prolonged attack on supplies in the Red Sea on Friday.
The Houthis have designated the key passageway linking Asian and Middle Eastern fuel and cargo shipments to Europe over the Suez Canal in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, after moves to escalate the conflict into provincial unrest.
The Houthis, an Iran-aligned Shiite rebel group in the Yemeni capital in 2014, did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack.
On Sunday, Houthi fire came down the path of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern compass of the Red Ocean, US military headquarters said in a statement.
The US said the rocket reached the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, long held by the Houthis.
"An enemy boat sailed from the Iran-backed Houthi-controlled area of Yemen towards the USS Laboon," the headquarters said. "No injuries or damage were reported."
The main day of US-led strikes hit 28 areas on Friday and more than 60 centers were hit by rockets and bombs launched by competing aircraft, warships and a submarine. The US says the destination houses weapons depots, radars and war rooms, notable for its rugged mountainous terrain.
The Houthis are currently unable to identify the extent of casualties from the strike, which they say has killed five of their soldiers and wounded six others.
US forces attacked Houthi radar sites on Saturday.
Traffic through the Red Ocean slowed after the attack. The US Navy on Friday warned American-led ships to avoid areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for 72 hours after the alleged airstrikes.
As far as they are concerned, the Houthis have confirmed without providing evidence that the US hit a site near Hodeidah during the same season of rocket fire on Sunday. The Americans and the Unified Realm did not recognize any strike directive - suggesting the impact may have been from a stray Houthi rocket.
Since November, dissidents have repeatedly put designated ships in the Red Sea, saying they are retaliating against Hamas for Israel's hostilities in Gaza. Regardless, they are often designated as vessels with dubious or unequivocal connections to Israel, jeopardizing transportation on an important route for global exchange.
Indeed, even the head of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in a speech on Sunday noted the expansion of Houthi attacks on ships, saying that "the sea has become a battlefield for rockets, robots and warships" and accused the United States of attacking. This is due to the increase in sea pressure.
"The most dangerous thing is what the Americans have done in the Red Ocean (it) will destroy the security of all sea lanes," Nasrallah said.
But while the Biden organization and its allies have sought to calm tensions in the Middle East and prevent a larger conflict, the Red Sea attack took an enlightening step.
Saudi Arabia, which backs the Yemeni government far and wide, has been embarrassed that the Houthis are fighting, and has tried to reduce ties to attacks on Houthi areas as it tries to maintain a sensitive detente and cease-fire with Iran. It is in Yemen. The Saudi-led, US-led war in Yemen, which began in 2015, has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and regular civilians, and led to one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.
The American military did not say specifically whether the fire marked Labun, following a US precedent since the Houthi offensive began. Nevertheless, US sailors received battle stripes for their actions in the Red Ocean - which are awarded exclusively to those facing a dynamic threat with enemy forces.
News source-ABC News
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