The French Ministry of the Armed Forces announced on Tuesday that a tricolor ship patrolling the Red Sea had shot down a drone on Monday which threatened a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker, attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. “No injuries were reported,” the ministry said in a statement.
A French ship patrolling the Red Sea on Monday shot down a drone that threatened a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces announced on Tuesday, shortly after having already shot down two other drones on Saturday night. to Sunday, 110 kilometers from the Yemeni coast. The multi-mission frigate (FREMM) Languedoc “intercepted and destroyed a drone directly threatening the Strinda” and then “placed itself in protection of the affected building, preventing the attempt to hijack the ship”, added the ministry press release.
“The fire on board the Strinda was able to be brought under control. No injuries were reported,” he further clarified, indicating that the American destroyer USS Mason had then “escorted the Strinda towards the Gulf of Aden outside of the threat zone.
Houthi rebels say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the missile attack on the tanker on Tuesday, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the Israeli army is at war against the Islamist movement Hamas.
The American army announced Monday evening that a missile fired from areas controlled by the Houthis had hit the tanker off the coast of Yemen, without causing any casualties, an incident confirmed by Norwegian shipowner J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi. The Houthis, like Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, are members of the “axis of resistance” against Israel, supported by Iran.