UK Navy Destroyer Shoots Down Drone Over Red Sea As Iran-Backed Houthis Launch Strike

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UK Navy Destroyer Shoots Down Drone Over Red Sea As Iran-Backed Houthis Launch Strikes at Israel
By: Aaron Feis - The Messenger News 12-16-23 ~ 1 hr ago
Re: https://themessenger.com/news/britis...rael-hamas-war

Note: The Houthis threatened last week to target any Israel-bound ships passing through the Red Sea

Photo link: The Royal Navy HMS Diamond destroyer
The Royal Navy HMS Diamond destroyer, seen here in England on Aug. 23, 2023, shot down a suspected attack drone in the Red Sea amid the war between Israel and Hamas, Britain’s defense secretary said on Dec. 16, 2023.Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

A British destroyer downed a suspected attack drone in the Red Sea overnight Friday into Saturday, one week after Iran-backed and Hamas-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to target any Israel-bound ships passing through the waters.

That incident came as the Houthis claimed to have launched a large drone attack against Israel.

“Overnight, HMS Diamond shot down a suspected attack drone which was targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea,” British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote in a statement posted Saturday to X, formerly Twitter.

A single Sea Viper missile destroyed the drone, Shapps wrote.

“The ship recently arrived in the region to bolster international efforts to maintain maritime security,” Shapps continued. “The recent spate of illegal attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security in the Red Sea. The UK remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade.”

Shapps did not identify the suspected source of the drone, but Houthi militants have previously attacked Western ships in the sea, and threatened last week to target any passing ships bound for Israel amid the country’s war with Hamas terrorists.
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NOTE: Other topics of interest - go to the link scroll down to open additions actions
in the Red Sea:
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US Navy Warship Shoots Down Drone From Yemen Over the Red Sea
US Navy Shoots Down Drone Launched From Yemen: Pentagon
Commercial Ships Hit by Missiles in Houthi Attack in Red Sea, US Warship Downs 3 Drones
Iran-Backed Houthis Vow to Target Any Ship ‘of Any Nationality’ Bound for Israel Through the Red Sea
French Navy Now Shooting Down Houthi Drones as US Ponders Military Action Against Increasingly Brazen Iran-Backed Rebels
France Shoots Down Second Houthi Drone After Missile Hits Norwegian Tanker in Red Sea
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Meanwhile Saturday, a Houthi spokesperson took credit for “a military operation against sensitive targets … with a large batch of drones” in Israel, through a statement posted to Telegram.

The Houthis claimed the purported attack was “a victory for the oppression of the Palestinian people, who are currently being subjected to killing, destruction, and siege in the Gaza Strip,” but specific details of that operation and its impact were not immediately clear.

Photo link of Yemenis trained by Houthi movement:
Link: https://themessenger.com/_next/image...jpg&w=750&q=75
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The ongoing war began on Oct. 7 with Hamas terrorists’ devastating surprise attack on Israel, which saw some 1,200 people killed, another 240 taken hostage and atrocities committed against civilians.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 18,700 people have been killed in the territory since Oct. 7. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths but has said that the majority of those killed are women and children.

Both Israel and the United States have warned regional militant groups like the Houthis and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah from getting involved in Israel’s war with Hamas.

Both groups are backed by and seen as proxies for Iran, which publicly hailed Hamas’ terror attack while privately bemoaning being left in the dark before its execution.
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Personal note: It's getting ugly in the area and seem to ge cranking up their terror attacks - somebody has got to be feeding them weapons and tech data!?
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