U.S. Navy ship shoots down Houthi drones, responds to attacks on other vessels in Red Sea

Houthi rebels in Yemen fired missiles into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea on Saturday, but no ships reported being impacted by the two anti-ship ballistic missiles, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

Between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time, four unmanned aerial drones fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen were shot down by the USS Laboon — the ship the drones were heading toward — U.S. Central Command said, adding there were no injuries or damage from the incident.

The USS Laboon then turned its attention to reports from two ships also in the southern Red Sea that were under attack at approximately 8 p.m. local time, CENTCOM said.

A Houthi one-way attack drone nearly missed the M/V Blaamanen, a Norwegian-flagged, -owned and -operated chemical/oil tanker, CENTCOM said. The M/V Saibaba, a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, reported it was hit by a one-way attack drone, according to CENTCOM.

Neither ship reported any injuries from the attacks, which mark the 14th and 15th on commercial shipping vessels by the Houthis since Oct. 17.

As the Houthi rebels continue to fire missiles at ships in the southern Red Sea, a number of major companies are pausing shipments that pass through region.

Source » nbcnews.com