A US destroyer intercepted a single Houthi anti-ship cruise missile launched toward the Red Sea on Tuesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, intercepted the missile shortly before midnight in Yemen. There were no injuries or damage reported, CETNCOM said in a statement quoted by CNN.
The attack is the latest by the Iranian-backed Houthis against commercial vessels in the Red Sea. It comes just days after a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile hit an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, sparking a fire on the ship.
The USS Carney, another destroyer operating in the region, was one of several ships that responded to the Marshall Islands-flagged M/V Marlin Luanda after it issued a distress call over the weekend.
The fire was extinguished and the tanker then sailed toward a safe harbor. The vessel’s operator, Trafigura, said on Saturday that all crew members on board are safe.
The US has carried out a series of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, some along with the UK.
Earlier this month, with support from other countries, the US and Britain targeted just under 30 Houthi locations with 150 different weapons.
Last week they struck Houthi targets again, this time hitting eight targets. Britain later said that 24 countries took part in the strikes, including the United States, Germany and Australia.