The U.S. armed forces said that they carried out self-defense strikes against drones and missiles in areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militia on Tuesday.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it “conducted six self-defense strikes, destroying an unmanned underwater vessel and 18 anti-ship missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen’’ on Monday afternoon.
“It is determined the weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region,’’ CENTCOM said in a statement.
The command said that, also on Monday, Houthi militants fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles toward a Singaporean-owned, Liberian-flagged merchant vessel in the Red Sea.
“The missiles did not impact the vessel, and there were no injuries or damage reported,’’ CENTCOM said.
The Islamist militia has vowed to attack ships in the Red Sea linked to Israel.
However, many of the ships that have come under fire have no connection to the country.
The Houthis say they want to force an end to the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, which followed the unprecedented massacre by the Palestinian Islamist organisation, Hamas, in Israel on Oct. 7.
Because of the continuing Houthi attacks, major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the shortest sea route between Asia and Europe and sailing around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope instead. (dpa/NAN)
