The United States has announced that it shot down four drones launched by Yemen’s Houthis, as the United Kingdom’s top diplomat branded the rebel group’s ally Iran a “malign influence”.
The USS Laboon guided-missile destroyer downed the drones as they were travelling towards the vessel and there were no injuries or damage, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.
The USS Laboon also responded to distress calls from a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker and an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker that came under attack.
“These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since October 17,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
The Houthis also fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea but no vessels were hit in the attacks, CENTCOM said.
Separately, the US Defence Department said that a drone launched from Iran struck a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean early on Saturday.
No casualties were reported.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency earlier said that a drone had exploded near a vessel in the Bab el-Mandab Strait, off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, have waged an escalating campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping since the start of the war in Gaza, in what the rebel group has characterised as a show of support for Palestinians facing Israeli bombardment.
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