The Pentagon says a US warship has come under attack in the Red Sea

[Boats]

The Pentagon says a US warship has come under attack in the Red Sea
By: WAtoday News 12-04-23 ~ 12:57 AM
Re: https://www.watoday.com.au/world/mid...04-p5eoow.html

Dubai: An American warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack on Sunday in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said, potentially marking a major escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war.

“We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Pentagon said on Sunday (local time).

The Carney is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
Photo link: https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.151%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$wid th_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/8181db26cb1ac7c7f5a498c511df73cb3486f5ae
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the attack began about 10am in Sanaa, Yemen, and had gone on for several hours.CREDIT:AP

The British military earlier said there had been a suspected drone attack and explosions in the Red Sea, without elaborating.

The Pentagon did not identify where it believed the fire came from. However, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been launching a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, as well as launching drones and missiles targeting Israel as it wages war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the attack began about 10am in Sanaa, Yemen, and had gone on for as much as five hours. Another US official who similarly spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason said the Carney had intercepted at least one drone during the attack.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis. However, a Houthi military spokesman earlier said an “important” statement would be released shortly.

Global shipping had increasingly been targeted as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a wider regional conflict — even as a truce briefly halted fighting and Hamas exchanged hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. However, the collapse of the truce and the resumption of punishing Israeli airstrikes and its ground offensive there had raised the risk of the seaborne attacks resuming.

Earlier in November, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship also linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen. The rebels still hold the vessel near the port city of Hodeida. Missiles also landed near another US warship last week after it assisted a vessel linked to Israel that had briefly been seized by gunmen.

However, the Houthis had not directly targeted the Americans for some time, further raising the stakes in the growing maritime conflict. In 2016, the US launched Tomahawk cruise missiles that destroyed three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory to retaliate for missiles being fired at US Navy ships at the time.
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Photo link: Israeli-Palestinian conflict
US sending more air defence systems to Middle East to fight drone attacks
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US missile defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, is seen at a golf course in Seongju, South Korea.
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Defence systems at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq, intercepted and shot down two drones while they were hovering near the base, an Iraqi security source said on Saturday.

In a statement cited by SITE Intelligence monitoring group, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, a Shiite militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war.

“Following detailed discussions with President (Joe) Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

Austin said he was placing additional troops on prepare-to-deploy orders, but did not say how many. The Pentagon has already placed some 2,000 troops on a heightened state of readiness in case they need to deploy to the region.

“These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel,” Austin added.

The deployments come two years after Biden’s administration withdrew air defence systems from the Middle East, citing a reduction in tensions with Iran.

The Patriot, considered one of the most advanced US air defence systems, is usually in short supply, with allies around the world vying for it.

The THAAD system has a powerful radar. U.S. deployment of the system to South Korea in 2016 angered China, which believed it could peer into its airspace.

There has been a spike in attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria since the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza broke out. Last week, a US warship shot down more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen.

Israel started its “total siege” of Gaza after an Oct. 7 cross-border attack on southern Israel by militants of the Islamist movement killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians, in a shock rampage that has traumatized Israel.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that Israel’s air and missile strikes had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, with more than a million of the tiny territory’s 2.3 million people displaced.
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Personal note: This shit is getting old and will not go away.
What's the best way to resolve these issues? We drive
them away and they come right back over and over!
It's a no win scenario - whose supplying the bad guys?
China? North Korea? God only knows but it will never
end and we will be sucked back in again - to clean
house - or sacrifice our soldier's in the process!
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God only knows if this will ever cease -
or just go on and on!
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