(14 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Red Sea - 12 June 2024
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SOUNDBITE (English) Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
"I'm on the deck of the USS Laboon. This is a guided missile destroyer that's part of that U.S.-led mission to counter the attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Now, the Laboon has been here for months. It's escorted American ships and other ships through the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and through the Gulf of Aden. Now, they say they've seen the Houthis launch ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. They've had to launch missiles and use other defenses to defend themselves and defend the shipping that's moving through here. But as you can hear on this quiet deck, this typically bustling Red Sea corridor is devoid of commercial ships. Traffic has dropped dramatically through the Suez Canal, which is taking a lot of revenue away from Egypt. And as of right now, the U.S. is continuing airstrikes and continuing to knock down these Houthi weapons that get fired. The rebels are continuing their fight, and this conflict goes on."
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STORYLINE:
The U.S.-led campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels has turned into the most intense running sea battle the U.S. navy has faced since World War II.
That's what its leaders and experts have told The Associated Press, whose journalists visited U.S. ships off Yemen in recent days.
Speaking from on board the USS Laboon, one of the guided-missile destroyers now taking part in the campaign, AP's news director for the Gulf and Iran Jon Gambrell says the Iran-backed rebels are mounting near-daily attacks.
More than 50 vessels have been clearly targeted by the rebels, while shipping volume has dropped in the vital Red Sea corridor that leads to the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean.
The Houthis say the attacks are aimed at stopping the war in Gaza and supporting the Palestinians though it comes as they try to strengthen their position in Yemen.
All signs suggest the warfare will intensify - putting U.S. sailors, their allies and commercial vessels at more risk.
AP video by Bernat Armangue
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