US Military Shoots Down Missiles and Drones in Red Sea

The US Navy destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) sets sail in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, July 14, 2019. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
The US Navy destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) sets sail in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, July 14, 2019. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
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US Military Shoots Down Missiles and Drones in Red Sea

The US Navy destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) sets sail in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, July 14, 2019. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
The US Navy destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) sets sail in the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, July 14, 2019. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik

A US Navy warship has shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel.

The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer in the northern Red Sea, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched on Thursday by Houthi militias in Yemen.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters the missiles were “potentially” headed toward Israel but said the US hasn't finished its assessment of what they were targeting.

US officials said they don't believe the missiles — which were shot down over the water — were aimed at the US warship. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

But an array of other drone attacks over the past three days did target US bases, including one in southern Syria on Thursday that caused minor injuries.



North Korea's Kim Vows to Exponentially Boost Nuclear Arsenal

09 September 2024, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 10 September 2024, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivering a speech to celebrate the National Foundation Day of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the country is officially known. Photo: -/kcna/kns/dpa
09 September 2024, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 10 September 2024, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivering a speech to celebrate the National Foundation Day of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the country is officially known. Photo: -/kcna/kns/dpa
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North Korea's Kim Vows to Exponentially Boost Nuclear Arsenal

09 September 2024, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 10 September 2024, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivering a speech to celebrate the National Foundation Day of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the country is officially known. Photo: -/kcna/kns/dpa
09 September 2024, North Korea, Pyongyang: A photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 10 September 2024, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivering a speech to celebrate the National Foundation Day of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the country is officially known. Photo: -/kcna/kns/dpa

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country is now implementing a nuclear force construction policy to increase the number of nuclear weapons "exponentially,” state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.

In a speech on North Korea's founding anniversary on Monday, Kim said the country must more thoroughly prepare its "nuclear capability and its readiness to use it properly at any given time in ensuring the security rights of the state,” said KCNA.
A strong military presence is needed to face "the various threats posed by the United States and its followers,” he added, according to Reuters.
Kim also said North Korea is facing a "grave threat" from what it sees as a US-led nuclear-based military bloc in the region.
South Korea's deputy defense minister for policy, Cho Chang-rae, and his US and Japanese counterparts on Tuesday condemned Pyongyang's recent diversification of nuclear delivery systems, tests and launches of multiple ballistic missiles.
Meeting in Seoul, the three reaffirmed a commitment to strengthen trilateral cooperation to ensure peace in the region, including by deterring North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, according to a joint statement released by the US State Department.
They also agreed to hold a second trilateral military exercise known as Freedom Edge in the near term.
South Korea will also hold a defense ministerial meeting with the member states of the United Nations Command (UNC) on Tuesday.
The UNC is led by the commander of the US military stationed in South Korea.
Last month, Germany became the latest to join the UNC in South Korea that helps police the heavily fortified border with North Korea and has committed to defend the South in the event of a war.
North Korea has criticized the UNC as an "illegal war organization" and Germany's entry into the US-led UN border monitoring force as raising tensions.