The US says it has shot down a cruise missile launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The missile targeted the destroyer USS Laboon, which operates in the southern Red Sea, the US military command center responsible for the Middle East (CENTCOM) said on Monday evening.
According to CENTCOM, there were no injuries or damage. The militia had previously reported airstrikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah. The Houthi-run news website Ansar Allah reported that Hodeidah was hit by US and British airstrikes on Sunday. This is the third day in a row that the rebels have reported attacks on their own positions following their attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea.
The US military rejected the Houthi militia’s claims. There were no attacks on Sunday by the US or the coalition protecting ships in the Red Sea, said a US military official who asked not to be named. Washington and London bombed militia positions in Yemen for the first time on Friday evening. US President Joe Biden spoke of “successful” air strikes – and threatened further strikes if the militia did not stop its attacks on ships.
On Saturday morning, the US confirmed a new attack on Houthi militia positions in Yemen. They reported another attack on a position on the outskirts of Hodeidah on Saturday afternoon. However, the US stated that it was not responsible for this attack.
Houthis see themselves as ‘axis of resistance’
The Iran-backed Houthis launched their series of rocket and drone attacks in the Red Sea after the start of the war between Israel and the radical Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Shia rebels see themselves as part of the self-proclaimed ‘Axis of Resistance’, aimed against Israel, which also includes Hamas. According to their own statements, the Houthi attacks are targeting ships with connections to Israel.
The attacks raised fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could spread across the region.
Source: Krone
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