Houthi Rebels Fire Missile at US Warship in Red Sea in First Attack After Yemen Strikes

US fighter jet shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea on Sunday, marking the latest attack amid Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“On January 14 at approximately 4:45 pm (Sanaa time) an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Iranian-backed Huthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon (DDG 58), which was operating in the Southern Red Sea,” the United States Central Command said in a statement.

US fighter aircraft shot down the missile and there were no injuries or damage reported, according to CENTCOM. The attack marks the first attack by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

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

Houthis, a Shiite rebel group, 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.

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 toward USS Laboon,” Central Command said. “There were no injuries or damage reported.”