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Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper
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Pentagon announces new international mission to counter attacks
on commercial vessels in Red Sea
By TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — The U.S. and
a host of other nations are creating a
new force to protect ships transiting the
Red Sea that have come under attack
by drones and ballistic missiles fired from
Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, De-
fense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced
Tuesday in Bahrain. The seriousness of
the attacks, several of which have dam-
aged vessels, has led multiple shipping
companies to order their ships to hold in
place and not enter the Bab el-Mandeb
Strait until the security situation can be
addressed.The U.S. military’s Central Com-
mand reported two more of the attacks
on commercial vessels Monday. A strike by
an attack drone and a ballistic missile hit
a tanker off Yemen, at roughly the same
time a cargo ship reported an explosive
detonating in the water near them, the
military said. “This is an international chal-
lenge that demands collective action,”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a
statement released just after midnight
in Bahrain. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, rear, addresses members of an international maritime task force protecting
commercial ships in the Red Sea at U.S. Navy Central Command headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, Tuesday, Dec. 19,
2023.
Continued on Page 2 Associated Press