The US Department of Defense (DOD) has clarified that the USS Nitze, a US Navy destroyer that fired several anti-ship missiles in response to alleged Houthi attacks in the Red Sea on Wednesday, was not the intended target of the missiles fired by the Yemeni group.
In response to a question on the matter, Pentagon spokesperson Jeff Davis said that “the Navy ship, at the time it was fired upon, was not the intended target. It was the Israeli-owned ship behind the Nitze that was likely the intended target.”
The Israeli-owned vessel, which has since been identified as the MV Explorer, was reported to have been travelling west of the Nitze at the time of the attack. On Tuesday, the Pentagon released images of what it said were the two missiles launched from Yemen at the US Navy vessel.
The US said the destroyer USS Nitze, deployed to the region on Oct. 11, “swiftly” launched two defensive missiles in response, but neither struck their targets.
The US said the destroyer USS Nitze, deployed to the region on Oct. 11, “swiftly” launched two defensive missiles in response, but neither struck their targets.
The Pentagon currently does not have any further information on the intentions of the Houthi militants who fired the missiles, but Davis said that the US “takes seriously any threat to freedom of navigation and commerce in the region and to our partners and coalition forces.”
