US Central Command said in a statement that the aircraft carrier USS Carney shot down three Iranian drones and an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Houthi-held territory in Yemen on Wednesday.
The Houthi missile was launched into the Gulf of Aden at around 8:30 p.m. local time. Forty minutes later, the USS Carney shot down three Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) nearby.
U.S. Central Command said no injuries or damage were reported.
The attack came amid rising tensions in the region. The Houthis have targeted commercial ships and ships in the Red Sea, and the U.S. military has responded with a series of precision strikes.
The Houthis say the attacks, which began in November, are aimed at protesting the Israeli-Hamas war in the region, but many of the recent attacks have no clear connection to Israel. As a result, shipping companies have been forced to look for alternative routes, leading to soaring oil prices and product delivery delays, raising concerns about the impact on the global economy.
U.S. officials announced earlier this week that U.S. forces have been hit by Iranian-backed groups more than 160 times since late October.
The attack comes just days after a deadly drone strike in Jordan killed three U.S. service members and injured about 40 others on Sunday.
Biden promised to respond to the attack “at a time and in a manner of our choosing,” but also made it clear that he was not seeking a large-scale war.
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