The US has destroyed a surface-to-air missile used by Houthi rebels in Yemen that poses an “imminent threat” to American aircraft in the region, the US Military Near East Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.
On Friday, U.S. forces “conducted a self-defense attack against a surface-to-air missile […] which was ready to be launched from the Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen,” said a message published by CENTCOM on the social network X.
The missile poses “an immediate threat to American aircraft in the region,” the command said without further details.
The Houthis fired an anti-ship missile that same day that hit the Red Sea without damaging any ships, the same source said.
With support from Iran, the Houthis have been carrying out attacks since November on ships they believe are linked to Israel, claiming to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In the face of Houthi attacks, the United States, Israel's backer, set up a multinational maritime defense force in the Red Sea in December and, with help from the United Kingdom, launched attacks in Yemen against the Houthis.
The latter have now expanded their attacks to include ships with connections to the United States or the United Kingdom.
In response to these attacks, on February 24, US and British forces carried out strikes against 18 Houthi targets in eight different locations in Yemen.
One person was killed and eight others injured, the Houthis' official news agency said.