The US military on Sunday said that its forces shot down a cruise missile fired at a US destroyer warship from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen.
The attack appears to be the first against a US destroyer amid a growing number of missile and drone strikes or attempted strikes by the Houthis on what they deem Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea.
“On January 14 at approximately 4:45pm [Sana’a time] an anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Huthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon, which was operating in the Southern Red Sea,” US Central Command said.
Photo: AFP / US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jeffrey M. Richardson
“The missile was shot down in vicinity of the coast of Hodeida by US fighter aircraft. There were no injuries or damage reported,” it said.
The Houthis have said they are acting in solidarity with Gaza, where Hamas militants have been battling Israel for more than three months.
ALLEGED STRIKES
Earlier, the US denied Yemeni rebel reports that it carried out new attacks on targets in Yemen.
Houthi media said that the US and British strikes had hit rebel-held Hodeida, but a US defense official speaking on condition of anonymity said: “No US or coalition strike occurred today.”
US and British forces on Friday last week said that they hit scores of rebel targets across Yemen, heightening fears that Israel’s war with Hamas could engulf the region.
Late on Friday, the US military said it had conducted a “follow-on” strike against a Houthi radar site, following an initial barrage earlier against rebel military facilities.
About 12 percent of global trade normally passes through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea entrance between southwest Yemen and Djibouti, but the rebel attacks have affected trade flows.
Washington last month announced a maritime security initiative, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to protect maritime traffic in the area, but the Houthis have kept up attacks despite several warnings.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
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