US Navy ship shoots down 14 drones launched from Yemen

By Samantha Waldenberg and Shania Shelton, CNN

(CNN) — A US Navy ship shot down 14 drones launched from “Houthi-controlled areas” of Yemen, US Central Command said Saturday.

The unmanned aircraft systems “were assessed to be one-way attack drones and were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” US Central Command posted on X.

This marks the latest instance of drones being shot down in the region as the Houthi rebels, who are funded and trained by Iran, have repeatedly attacked commercial ships with drones and missiles.

The USS Carney shot down at least three Houthi drones headed in the ship’s direction in the southern Red Sea earlier this month. The Carney also responded to distress calls from commercial vessels in the area that were attacked by ballistic missiles.

Last month, the USS Thomas Hudner shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Yemen. And in another instance, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the USS Mason in the Gulf of Aden after it responded to a distress call from another commercial tanker that had come under attack by five armed individuals believed to be Somali.

The US has responded to these attacks in recent months by launching strikes in eastern Syria and Iraq, targeting weapons depots and storage facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxy militia groups.

The US has stopped short in most instances of saying the drones from Houthi areas in Yemen were targeting the various warships, noting only that they have been heading in their direction and were considered enough of a threat to be engaged.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are a Shia political and military organization that have been fighting a civil war against a Saudi Arabia-backed coalition since 2014. They have voiced support for the Palestinians and organized protests in Yemen against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

The uptick in activity from the Houthis — as well as attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria by other Iran-backed groups — began after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.

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