A ship of the United States Navy has intercepted and shot down multiple missiles and drones launched by an Iranian-backed militant group in Yemen. The Department of Defense said these missiles and drones may have been heading toward Israel.
The USS Carney, a Navy guided-missile destroyer stationed in the northern Red Sea, reported on Thursday, Oct. 19, that it shot down four cruise missiles and 14 drones within a span of nine hours. These projectiles and unmanned vehicles were launched by the Houthis of Yemen and allegedly heading for Israel. (Related: Defense officials warn: Iran could use Israel-Palestine chaos as an "opportunity" to attack American forces all over the Middle East.)
The Houthis is an Iran-backed, Islamist armed movement led by members of the Houthi clan of northwestern Yemen. For nearly 10 years, the Houthis and its supporters have occupied vast swathes of Shia-majority northwestern Yemen, including the de jure Yemeni capital of Sana'a.
Iran heavily supports the Houthis due to the group's adherence to the Shia denomination of Islam and for the group's opposition to the Saudi Arabian-backed, Sunni Muslim-majority Republic of Yemen.
This heavy backing has resulted in Tehran supplying the Houthis with a vast arsenal, including ballistic missiles, ground-launched cruise missiles and loitering munitions, or "suicide drones." Some of these missiles and drones may be capable of reaching Israel.
One such missile is the Toufan, a liquid-propellant missile with a range of between 839 to 1,212 miles – potentially enough to put southern Israel within striking distance of the Houthis.
Analysts warn that members of the Houthis are very experienced in using these armaments, thanks to training from Iran and from Hezbollah militants from Lebanon. Members of the Houthis have conducted dozens of missile and drone attacks at targets both in government-controlled parts of Yemen and even in Saudi Arabia.
Houthi missiles, drones may have been heading for Israel
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder noted in a press briefing that the Defense Department is still uncertain where the missiles and drones were heading.
"We cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting, but they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea potentially to targets in Israel," said Ryder, who noted that more information regarding the interception incident was still being processed by the Navy and the Pentagon. It is also unclear from where the Houthis launched the missiles and drones from.
Ryder added that the interceptions took place over water and not land. No sailors aboard the USS Carney were harmed and the ship itself didn't suffer any damages.
It should be noted that Iran's strong political and military backing of the Houthis means that the movement's ideology is in line with that of Tehran's, which means that members of the Houthis also consider themselves to be opponents of Israel.
Several days following the beginning of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinians in Gaza, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was quoted as warning that if the U.S. directly intervened in the conflict, the Houthis would have to respond through a variety of military options, including by firing a barrage of missiles and launching a fleet of drones at U.S. and Israeli targets.
Former Pentagon official and ABC News contributor Steve Ganyard said that the U.S.S. Carney's interception of Houthi missiles and drones provides the U.S. with sufficient justification to position more naval assets in the Red Sea to protect Israel from a southern attack.
"The larger concern is if Iran now considers U.S. ships fair game," he added. "Because if the Houthis shoots at a U.S. ship, there will be little doubt that it would have been at Tehran's direction."
Watch this video chronicling the progress of the conflict between Israel and Palestine from Oct. 19 to 20, including a discussion of the Houthis allegedly firing missiles at Israel.
This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.
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