Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a U.S.-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement late Thursday.
The statement said the crew saw the missiles land in the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship, the M/V Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged, U.S.-owned, Greek-operated tanker ship, U.S. Central Command said.
Yemen's Houthi rebels said they had carried out the attack, claiming "direct hits," a statement on the group's social media said.
On Thursday, U.S. forces carried out more strikes against targets inside Iranian-backed, Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, as concerns grow that the Israel-Hamas conflict could expand into a full-blown war across the Middle East.
"We don't seek war. We don't think that we are at war. We don't want to see a regional war," Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters on Thursday.
Singh said Thursday’s airstrikes were launched by F-18 fighter jets in "self-defense," destroying two anti-ship missiles that were still on the ground but aimed into the southern Red Sea, posing an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region.
It marked the fifth time the U.S. struck Houthi targets inside Yemen in the past week.
"It's up to the Houthis to decide when they want to stop," she told reporters. "How much cost are they willing to incur every time they disrupt commercial trade?"
The airstrikes came hours after U.S. Navy ships used Tomahawk missiles late Wednesday to strike 14 Houthi missiles in western Yemen, according to U.S. Central Command.
The military said those missiles had been loaded to be fired.
"The actions by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways," said General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM commander.
"We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners, and we will always protect our people," Kurilla said.
In an earlier round of strikes, British forces joined U.S. forces to target Houthi sites in Yemen in response to attacks and threats to vessels in the Red Sea.
On Wednesday, a one-way attack drone launched from the Houthi-controlled part of Yemen struck the Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and -operated M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden.
The ship’s operator reported damage, but no injuries from the attack.
A spokesperson for India’s navy said Thursday an Indian destroyer responded to a distress call from the M/V Genco Picardy and provided assistance to the crew of 22 people, which included nine Indians. An explosive ordnance disposal specialist also inspected the damaged area and rendered it safe for the ship to travel to port.
Jeff Seldin and Chris Hannas contributed to this report.
