US destroyer shoots down cruise missiles by Iran-backed Houthis

US Navy intercepted Houthi cruise missiles and drones headed potentially towards Israel, the Pentagon said, amid a new spate of drone attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria as Iran-backed factions threaten retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza.

By Jared Szuba

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that the USS Carney destroyer shot down three land-attack cruise missiles and several drones fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen. There were no casualties to US forces or to any civilians, the Pentagon said.

The missiles “were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea, potentially towards targets in Israel,” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said on Thursday.

This comes after a civilian contractor working for the US military died of a “cardiac episode” while seeking shelter during a drone attack at al-Asad airbase in Iraq on Wednesday, Ryder said on Thursday. 

The attack on al-Asad came amid separate drone attacks on US troops at two locations in Iraq on Wednesday. 

Separately, US troops at the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria sustained “minor injuries” in a drone attack targeting their outpost on Wednesday, a US official told Al-Monitor.

The official would not say how many personnel were injured nor how many drones were involved, but they said the injuries sustained included headaches, suggesting US forces were unable to shoot down at least one of the incoming devices.

Coalition personnel sustained similar injuries in that attack, including headaches and ringing in the ears, suggesting possible traumatic brain injuries, Al-Monitor reported yesterday. US troops also shot down a drone in northern Iraq on Wednesday.

The United States has not attributed blame for the attempted attacks, but Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have openly threatened American troops in the region amid Washington’s support for Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.