A US Navy destroyer received a distress call from an Israeli owned cargo ship in the Red Sea. Houthi rebels boarded the ship but the crew had locked itself in a secured room.
As the pirates could not reach the crews, they escaped back to Yemen. US helicopters pursued them before finally taking them into custody. Fox News reports:
A U.S. Navy vessel responded to a distress call Sunday from an Israeli-linked tanker off the coast of Yemen on Sunday and was later fired upon, Fox News has learned.
U.S. Navy personnel from the USS Mason, a Mayport-based Arleigh Burke class destroyer assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean, responded to the distress call from the Liberian-flagged Central Park, carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid in the Gulf of Aden.
In response to the arrest of some of its members, Houthi rebels fired missiles towards the US destroyer. While the Navy was ready to intercept them, the missiles fell short of their intended target. CBS continues:
Two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in the direction of USS Mason, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, U.S. Central Command said Sunday night. The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden about 11 miles from the ship, and no injuries or damage were reported.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have controlled the capital, Sanaa, since 2014, offered no comment on the seizure. However, Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is based out of nearby Aden, blamed the rebels for the attack in a statement carried by their state-run news agency.
Houthi rebels have shown themselves to be the most ruthless allies of Hamas. Iran-backed Houthis have already successfully seized one Israeli ship and fired rockets towards Israel. How exactly Israel and the West will respond to the Houthi threat after the Hamas war is currently unknown.
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