Ballistic Missiles Fired at Navy Warship from Yemen in the Gulf of Aden
After U.S.S. Mason Responded to Distress Signal from Cargo Ship. Hijackers were caught & detained.
According to U.S. Central Command, Yemeni ballistic missiles were fired toward the Navy destroyer Mason on Sunday while the warship was responding to a distress call from a commercial vessel with ties to Israel in the Gulf of Aden.
This scenario is the most recent in a string of incidents in which American officials claim that drones and missiles fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are aligned with Iran, have collided with destroyers in the Middle East. It also coincides with the spate of attacks against American personnel in Syria and Iraq in recent weeks due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
After receiving reports that an "unknown entity" had assaulted the commercial vessel Central Park on Sunday, the combatant command, together with other ally ships and planes from CENTCOM's counter-piracy task force, rushed to the ship's rescue.
According to a statement from CENTCOM, "combative elements demanded release of the vessel upon arrival." Then, five armed people got off the ship and tried to escape in their little boat. The attackers were eventually forced to surrender because the Mason chased after them.
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