The United States shot down three cruise missiles over the Red Sea which may have been targeting Israel. Several drone attacks also targeted U.S. forces.
A U.S. Navy vessel shot down three cruise missiles over the Red Sea on Oct. 19 that may have been headed toward targets in Israel, the Pentagon said.
The incident comes amid several drone and missile strikes on U.S. and allied forces that have resulted in multiple injuries to coalition forces in the Middle East.
The USS Carney intercepted the cruise missiles and multiple drones after they were launched from the Arabian Peninsula “toward Israel,” Pentagon spokesperson Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during an Oct. 19 briefing.
“The crew of the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney, operating in the northern Red Sea earlier today, shot down three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen,” he said.
“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 toward targets in Israel.”
Gen. Ryder declined to acknowledge who authorized engagement with the missiles or whether they were targeting Israeli or U.S. forces.
“The decision was made that it posed a potential threat based on its flight profile, and so the decision was made to take it down,” he said.
US, Coalition Forces Under Attack
The Red Sea incident is one of several engagements with hostile drones or missiles faced by U.S. forces in the Middle East over the past two days.
Allied forces were injured during several of the attacks in both Iraq and Syria. Coalition forces at the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria were injured on Oct. 19, when the facility came under attack by two drones.
“U.S. and Coalition forces engaged one drone, destroying it, while the other impacted the base resulting in minor injuries to coalition forces,” Gen. Ryder said.
Meanwhile, U.S. and coalition troops engaged two drones at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq and another at a base in northern Iraq. Some members of Coalition forces were injured in the al-Assad attack.
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