WASHINGTON – Iranian-backed forces in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at a U.S. warship early Monday after the Navy responded to a distress call from an Israel-linked commercial oil tanker that had been captured by Somali pirates, it said. the Pentagon.
The commercial oil tanker, known as Central Park, issued a distress call Sunday night indicating that its crew was “under attack by an unknown entity” after five armed men boarded the ship in the Gulf of Aden, according to a statement. of the United States Central Command.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason responded to the call, along with an accompanying American helicopter gunship and a Japanese destroyer, while members of the Central Park crew barricaded themselves inside the ship’s Citadel safe room.
“Upon arrival, coalition elements demanded the release of the ship,” CENTCOM said in its statement. “Subsequently, five armed individuals disembarked from the ship and attempted to flee in their small boat.”
The Freemason pursued the attackers (later discovered to be Somali pirates) as they returned to the shores of Yemen. There, the five individuals surrendered and Navy personnel arrested them and took them for interrogation under anti-piracy authorities.
Yemenis walk past a banner with the Palestinian flag and words saying in Arabic “Al-Quds Storm” at a roadside display in Al-Sabeen Square in solidarity with the Palestinians. Getty Images The Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mason conducts divisional tactical maneuvers as part of an exercise by Commander, Task Force 55, in the Gulf of Oman. REUTERS
But while the Mason was “concluding its response,” Houthi militants in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at the Mason at 1:41 a.m. Monday, according to CENTCOM. The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden, about 10 nautical miles from the ships. No one was injured in the explosions.
The Central Park crew was safe after the incident. The ship was operating under the management of Zodiac Maritime, an international shipping company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group.
American and Japanese ships were not the only ships in the region that could have responded to Central Park’s call for help. Three Chinese Navy ships in the vicinity of the ship chose to ignore the Israel-linked ship’s 59 distress calls, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brigade said. General Patrick Ryder said.
Houthi fighters ride in a military vehicle and pass near a large banner depicting the leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement, Abdul Malek Badr al-Dain al-Houthi, in Al-Sabeen Square. Getty Images Yemenis loyal to the Houthi movement gather near American and Israeli flags painted on the ground in solidarity with the Palestinians in Al-Sabeen Square on November 22, 2023. Getty Images
“Maritime domain security is essential to regional stability,” CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement. “We will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure the security of international shipping routes.”
The Mason has been in the region as part of the Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group that deployed after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. U.S. officials said the ships were sent to prevent outside actors, including Iran, from escalating the conflict.
Attackers seized the Israel-linked oil tanker off the coast of Aden, Yemen, on Sunday, November 26, 2023, authorities said. AP
The attempted ballistic missile attack by Houthi forces represents the latest in a series of attacks by Iranian-backed militant groups against US forces in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas began. The other attacks were launched against US and coalition forces at military bases in Iraq and Syria.
Since Oct. 17, there have been 73 attacks on U.S. troops in the region, Ryder said, adding that there have been no ground attacks since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Nov. 23. While dozens of troops have been injured, most cases have been minor.
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