Yemen Houthi rebels fire missile at US warship in Red Sea in first attack after American-led strikes

Dubai, January 15

Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile towards an American destroyer in the Red Sea on Sunday, but a US fighter jet shot it down in the latest attack roiling global shipping amid Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

The attack marks the first US-acknowledged targeting by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes on Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted that crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onwards to Europe over the Israel-Hamas war, attacks that threaten to widen that conflict into a regional conflagration.

The Houthis, a Shiite rebel group allied with Iran, did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

The Houthi fire targeted the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the US military’s Central Command said in a statement.

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the US said.

“An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen towards USS Laboon,” Central Command said. “There were no injuries or damage reported.”      

The first day of US-led strikes on Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs launched by fighter jets, warships and a submarine. US forces followed up with a strike on Saturday on a Houthi radar site.