Two U.S. Navy destroyers were attacked by Houthi forces while recording three U.S. ships.
“U.S. Navy destroyers USS Stockdale (DDG 106) and the USS O’Kane (DDG 77) successfully defeated a range of Houthi-launched weapons while transiting the Gulf of Aden, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1. The destroyers were escorting three U.S. owned, operated, flagged merchant vessels and the reckless attacks resulted in no injuries and no damage to any vessels, civilian or U.S. Naval,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
“The destroyers successfully engaged and defeated three anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), three one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems (OWA UAS), and one anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM), ensuring the safety of the ships and their personnel, as well as civilian vessels and their crews.”
CENTCOM said the actions reflect its commitment to “protect U.S. personnel, regional partners, and international shipping, against attacks by Iran-backed Houthis.”
A recent paper from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS) called for a greater “political strategy” in handling Houthi fouces.
“After twelve months of sustained attacks on Western shipping, it seems obvious that the current response by the international community has failed to reach its stated goals. Despite their military superiority, the US and its allies have not seriously degraded the capability of the Houthis to launch attacks, nor their ability to resupply their arsenals,” the report’s executive summary says.
“Interestingly, while Western governments are engaged in limited military actions against them, there appears to be no complementary political strategy. Rather than trying to contain their military ambitions, the international community remains focused on the humanitarian situation in Yemen and on normalising their relationships with the group.”
The report then urged Western nations to “reassess their strategy” against the Houthis.
