2 US-flagged ships with cargo for US Defense Department come under attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels

Source: Associated Press

2 US-flagged ships with cargo for US Defense Department come under attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

BY JON GAMBRELL
Updated 3:51 PM EST, January 24, 2024

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two American-flagged ships carrying cargo for the U.S. Defense and State departments came under attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday, officials said, with the U.S. Navy intercepting some of the incoming fire.

The attacks on the container ships Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake further raise the stakes of the group’s ongoing attacks on shipping through the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The U.S. and the United Kingdom have launched multiple rounds of airstrikes seeking to stop the attacks.

Meanwhile, Qatar, one of the world’s top exporters of liquified natural gas, warned that its deliveries were affected by ongoing Houthi attacks over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Danish shipper Maersk, in a statement to The Associated Press, identified two of its vessels affected by the attacks as the U.S.-flagged container ships Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake. It said the U.S. Navy was accompanying its ships at the time.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-ship-attacks-israel-hamas-war-gaza-ef0b83ef2a7ca8c727288b50037287e5