By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-05

The series of recent attacks on commercial ships by the Iran-backed Houthis represent a significant escalation in the threat to international commerce and maritime security in the Middle East.

A US guided missile destroyer in the Red Sea shot down multiple drones on December 3 while assisting three commercial ships that were targeted by attacks from Yemen, the US military said.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on two of the ships.

The Houthis have launched a series of drones and missiles toward Israel in recent weeks from Yemen, and seized a cargo vessel last month.

"Today, there were four attacks against three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a December 3 statement.

"These three vessels are connected to 14 separate nations," it said.

"The Arleigh-Burke Class destroyer USS Carney responded to the distress calls from the ships and provided assistance" and shot down three drones that were heading for the warship during the day, the statement said.

As it conducted a patrol in the Red Sea on the morning of December 3, USS Carney detected an anti-ship ballistic missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen that landed near the Bahamas-flagged M/V Unity Explorer.

At around noon the same day, in international waters, USS Carney "engaged and shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen," CENTCOM said.

The drone was headed toward the US destroyer, "although its specific target is not clear," CENTCOM said.

Shortly afterwards, Unity Explorer reported it had been struck by a missile fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen, and USS Carney responded to the distress call.

"While assisting with the damage assessment, Carney detected another inbound UAV, destroying the drone with no damage or injuries on the Carney or Unity Explorer," it said, though the commercial vessel reported minor damage.

Later on in the afternoon, "the M/V Number 9 was struck by a missile fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen while operating international shipping lanes" in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and suffered damage but no significant harm.

The M/V Sophie II then sent a distress call stating it had been struck by a missile, CENTCOM said.

"Carney again responded to the distress call and reported no significant damage," it said. "While en route to render support, Carney shot down a UAV headed in its direction."

"These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security," CENTCOM said. "They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world."

'Fully enabled by Iran'

Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, is traveling to the region this week to discuss the need to preserve the delicate truce in Yemen with officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, as well as United Nations representatives.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that the "provocative and dangerous attacks" by the Houthis have "threatened almost two years of progress to end the war in Yemen."

Miller said the United States will keep working with its allies "to respond to these Houthi attacks which threaten global shipping [and] the global economy."

"This is a matter of global concern," he said.

G7 foreign ministers on November 29 called on the Houthis to cease threats to international shipping and to release a vessel they seized earlier that month.

"We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran," CENTCOM said.

"The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners."

The Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on the Unity Explorer and Number 9 with a missile and a drone in a statement on social media earlier in the day, saying the ships were Israeli and threatening to continue such attacks.

Israel has no connection to the vessels involved in the incidents, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told Reuters.

Hamas carried out a terrorist attack from Gaza on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people.

Since that attack, Israel has faced drone and missile attacks launched from Lebanon and Yemen, while US forces in Iraq and Syria have been targeted in a series of attacks that have injured dozens of US personnel, AFP reported.

The United States has blamed the attacks on Iran-backed forces and responded with air strikes on multiple occasions.

An air strike in northern Iraq killed at least five pro-Iranian militants on December 3, Iraqi security sources said, in a raid targeting a site used by Iran-backed Iraqi militia Harakat al-Nujaba in the Dibis area of Kirkuk province.

A US military official confirmed a "self-defense strike" was carried out in northern Iraq against a drone launch site against "an imminent threat."

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an address to a security forum on December 2 that the United States "will not tolerate attacks on American personnel. And so these attacks must stop."

"Until they do, we will do what we need to do to protect our troops -- and to impose costs on those who attack them," he said.