A French Navy frigate shot down a drone that threatened to attack a Norwegian oil tanker in the Red Sea. The Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the airstrike in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
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The French Navy had to intervene again in the Red Sea. On the night of December 11, the French frigate Languedoc, which was patrolling the Red Sea, shot down an aerial drone that was threatening to attack a Norwegian oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Red Sea of the Gulf of Aden.
The French Army said in a statement that it had destroyed the drone to protect the foreign ship from a “possible hijacking” before resuming its journey north.
Protection of maritime voyages | La nuit dernière, la FREMM Languedoc, patrouillant au large du Yémen, est intervenue suite à l'attaque aérienne complexe subie par le pétrolier🇳🇴Strinda.
Engagement d'un drone et escorte du pétrolier touchedé en dehors de la zone de danger. pic.twitter.com/zzu1dMHDEa
— Armée française – Opérations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) December 12, 2023
The Houthis, an Iran-backed Shiite rebel group in Yemen, admitted to launching a drone attack on the Norwegian ship: “The air force of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a military operation against the Norwegian ship Strinda, which was carrying oil” , bound for Israel, declared the spokesman for the Houthi forces, Yahya Saree.
Norwegians deny transporting oil to Israel
According to the owner of the 144-metre-long Norwegian tanker, J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, the attack caused a fire on the Strinda, which the crew, all Indian nationals, were able to extinguish. He added that there were no injuries on board.
The company also denied the allegation that the ship was carrying oil bound for Israel. According to the company, the Strinda had left Malaysia to deliver raw materials for the manufacture of biofuels in Italy. The tanker is now heading to “a safe port” to seek refuge.
More and more attacks in the area
This attack is not the first of its kind. US and French warships patrolling the Red Sea have repeatedly shot down Houthi missiles and drones in the area.
Last weekend, a French frigate destroyed two drones using surface-to-air missiles. Last week, the USS Mason shot down a drone that had passed too close to the ship.
The rebel group, not recognized by international organizations, controls most of the country and is a close ally of Iran. Since the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, both have carried out acts of “resistance” against the Jewish State, in particular attacking foreign ships in the Suez Canal.
In a statement published on Saturday, December 9, the Houthis assured that they would “prevent the passage of ships to the Zionist entity” if the delivery of food and medicine to Gaza was not authorized.
Ships bound for Israel “will become a legitimate target of our armed forces,” the statement stated. In response to this threat, the US and French navies have increased their military presence in the Gulf of Aden. According to the French Army, nearly 20,000 merchant ships pass through the area each year.
With Reuters
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