A US warship deployed to the Middle East shot down three cruise missiles and several drones fired by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen that may have been aimed at targets in Israel, the Pentagon has said.
The USS Carney, a US navy destroyer sailing in the northern Red Sea, intercepted the missiles that had been fired by Houthi forces, which have been fighting an insurgent war against Yemen’s Saudi-backed regime for several years.
Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, said the US military “cannot say for sure” where the missiles and drones were headed, but they were launched from Yemen and were heading north over the Red Sea, in the direction of Israel. Ryder said there were no known casualties for the US or to any civilians on the ground.