This week, U.S. Forces in the Middle East shot down multiple terrorist drones and missiles fired from Yemen by Houthi rebels. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released a statement detailing the series of threats encountered between Tuesday and Thursday.
Houthi rebels are Iran-backed terrorists who target ships in the Red Sea with the intent to revenge Israel for its military operations in Gaza. The Biden administration and the United Kingdom have joined forces to control Houthi threats and avoid a detrimental war in the region.
Houthis fire anti-ship ballistic missile toward USS Carney (DDG 64)
On Jan. 26, at approximately 1:30 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired one anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward Arleigh-Burke class destroyer USS Carney… pic.twitter.com/GcVqk48CeR
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 26, 2024
On Tuesday, Houthi rebels fired a cruise missile at the USS Gravely destroyer ship. CNN reported on the attack, stating that the missile came within one mile of hitting the ship. This is the closest a Houthi attack has come to making contact with a U.S. warship.
Missiles previously fired by the Houthi have been intercepted by U.S. forces at an average distance of eight miles. Due to the close range of the missile, USS Gravely had to resort to using their Close-In Weapon System for the first time which successfully stopped it. These specific missiles travel hundreds of miles per hour which means USS Gravely was only seconds from being blown up.
On Wednesday morning, Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship ballistic missile at the USS Carney warship. The missile was successfully intercepted. Just 40 minutes later, military forces also destroyed 3 Iranian drones.
On Thursday, U.S. Forces went into full defense and quickly located the Houthi rebel’s ground station. The station was destroyed. According to the statement from the CENTCOM, 10 Houthi one-way Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) were also struck down.
CENTCOM wrote, “U.S. forces identified the UAV ground control station and one-way attack UAVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region.”
The series of threats comes after an unfortunate event at the US outpost in Jordan last week. U.S. service members were killed by drones controlled by Iranian-backed militants. The U.S. continues to attempt to control Houthi terrorists and avoid antagonizing a war.
