(Navy Times) Diana Stancy Correll - The Navy destroyer USS Laboon shot down four unmanned aerial vehicles Saturday in the Red Sea that originated from Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen, U.S. Central Command said. The drones "were inbound" to the destroyer as it conducted a patrol in the southern Red Sea. After shooting down the drones, the Laboon responded to distress calls after two commercial vessels came under attack on Saturday. "The M/V Blaamanen, a Norwegian-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil tanker, reported a near miss of a Houthi attack drone," CENTCOM said. "A second vessel, the M/V Saibaba, a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, reported that it was hit by a one-way attack drone with no injuries reported....These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since Oct. 17." CENTCOM also said that two Houthi anti-ship missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas on Saturday, but no ships reported being harmed.
2023-12-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive