Pentagon says US warship, commercial vessels under attack in Red Sea

A U.S. warship and multiple commercial vessels were reportedly under attack in the Red Sea on Sunday.

The development could signify a serious escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war.

“We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available, later,” a Pentagon spokesman told Fox News, after the Associated Press reported on an attack on a U.S. warship in the Red Sea. 

USS Carney is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer that has been shooting down drones and cruise missiles in recent weeks launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who claimed credit for Sunday’s attack. An update is expected soon from the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).

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The USS Carney was in the southern Red Sea, just north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, when it shot down at least two Houthi drones heading in its direction, a U.S. official told Fox News, adding that the action was taken in self-defense. The drones were launched from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen, the official claimed. 

The official said several commercial vessels came under fire from the Houthi’s and at least one was hit. 

A White House official seemed to downplay the incident to Fox News, saying that the American destroyer specifically did not come under attack in the Red Sea. Apparently, several commercial ships in the area were fired upon, and the U.S. ship responded to their distress calls. 

The U.S. official further told Fox News there are no injuries or damage to the USS Carney. The official did not have the exact distance of how far away the drones were when the USS Carney shot them down but said the American destroyer “did not let them come too close.”

There are no injuries to any of the crew members on the commercial vessels, which represent multiple nations, meaning the crews are from one country, while the ships are owned by another country and flagged by another, according to the official. The attacks on the commercial vessels are said to have happened over several hours on Sunday. 

The USS Carney shot down at least two Houthi drones over the Red Sea Sunday, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Fox News.  

“Houthi missiles struck some commercial ships in the Red Sea,” the official said. “The Carney has been lending assistance and shot down at least two UAVs headed in its direction.”

The British military earlier said there had been a suspected drone attack and explosions in the Red Sea, without elaborating.

The Pentagon earlier did not identify where it believed the fire came from. However, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attacks, saying the first vessel was hit by a missile and the second by a drone while in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. He described the ships as allegedly ignoring warnings from Houthi officials prior to the attack.

Saree did not mention any U.S. warship being involved in the attack, according to the AP. 

“The Yemeni armed forces continue to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea (and Gulf of Aden) until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops,” Saree said. “The Yemeni armed forces renew their warning to all Israeli ships or those associated with Israelis that they will become a legitimate target if they violate what is stated in this statement.”

Saree identified the first vessel attacked as the Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier Unity Explorer, which is owned by a British firm that includes Dan David Ungar, who lives in Israel, as one of its officers. The second was a Panamanian-flagged container ship called Number 9, which is linked to Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. Managers for the two vessels could not be immediately reached for comment.

Israeli media identified Ungar as being the son of Israeli shipping billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, told the AP that the attack began about 10 a.m. in Sanaa, Yemen, and had been going on for as much as five hours. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis. However, a Houthi military spokesman earlier said an “important” statement would be released shortly.

Before reports of an attack on a U.S. warship in the Red Sea, former Obama CIA director and defense secretary Leon Panetta on Saturday evening at the Reagan National Defense Forum spoke about how the U.S. should respond to the increasing number of attacks by Iran’s proxy groups against U.S. forces in the Middle East. 

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“I would be much more aggressive,” Panetta said. “I want to go after those who are firing missiles at our troops and make sure they understand that when they fire a missile – they are going to die.”

U.S. forces in the Middle East have been attacked at least 75 times since the middle of last month. The Pentagon does not count attacks on U.S. warships at sea in this number.

Global shipping had increasingly been targeted as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a wider regional conflict.

Earlier in November, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship also linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen. The rebels still hold the vessel near the port city of Hodeida. Missiles also landed near another U.S. warship last week after it assisted a vessel linked to Israel that had briefly been seized by gunmen.

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However, the Houthis had not directly targeted the Americans for some time, further raising the stakes in the growing maritime conflict. In 2016, the U.S. launched Tomahawk cruise missiles that destroyed three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory to retaliate for missiles being fired at U.S. Navy ships, including the USS Mason, at the time.

Fox News’ Sarah Tobianski and The Associated Press contributed to this report.