Houthis from Yemen fired a cruise missile designed to destroy a U.S. ship. military authorities acknowledged that a navy cruiser was on Sunday.
According to a statement from the U.S. military's Middle East command, Central Command (CENTCOM), the Houthis fired a missile at the USS Laboon at around 4:35 p.m. in the southern Red Sea local time. American jet planes shot down the rocket. There were no reported injuries.
According to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is in charge of managing maritime traffic in the Middle East, the ship was attacked on Monday around 110 miles southeast of Aden. The UK organization did not name the ship or provide any details, just stating that the skipper claimed that the ship was "hit from above by a missile" on its port side.
Although President Joe Biden has stated that he "will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary," it is currently unclear whether the United States would take retaliatory action in response to the most recent assaults.
It's one of numerous assaults carried out by the Houthis, an Islamist group that the United States originally classified as a terrorist organization and is thought to have substantial support from the Iranian government. In recent weeks, the State Department has initiated operations against both American assets and merchant ships in the area. According to the organization, the strikes are intended to prevent ships from getting to Israel in the midst of a growing regional crisis.
The attack on Sunday comes after airstrikes last week by the US and the UK against the Houthis inside of Yemen, which raised concerns that the conflict was spreading throughout the Middle East. It all began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas began launching terrorist strikes in southern Israel. This sparked a protracted military operation by Israel in Gaza, the home base of Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organization that is also believed to have Iranian support.
Due to the Gaza conflict, the Houthis have focused their efforts in recent weeks on the crucial corridor that connects oil and freight supplies from Asia and the Middle East with the Suez Canal, a crucial route to Europe.
The attack on the US vessel on Sunday was also the first time the US has admitted that the Houthis had fired a shot since the US and its allies started attacking Yemen on January 12 in response to weeks of attacks on Red Sea cargo. The strike was not acknowledged by the Houthis right away.
On January 12, the United States conducted its first day of attacks, using cruise missiles and bombs from fighter aircraft, destroyers, and a submarine to hit almost 60 targets in 28 different sites. The US said that armament stores, radars, and command centers were among the damaged sites.
The Houthis said five of their members were killed and six more were injured, but they have not yet acknowledged the full extent of the damage caused by the attacks. On January 13, American soldiers launched a counterattack against a Houthi radar facility.
The Houthis, for their part, claimed—without offering any supporting evidence—that on January 14 at around the same time as the cruise missile fire, the US had targeted a location close to Hodeida. The explosion may have been caused by a Houthi missile that misfired, although the United States and the United Kingdom refused to confirm carrying out any strikes.
In a speech on Sunday, Hassan Nasrallah, the terrorist organization's leader, alluded to the growing Houthi attacks on ships in passing. He said that “the sea has become a battlefield of missiles, drones, and warships” and blamed the U.S. bombings for the rise in maritime tensions. "What the Americans did in the Red Sea is the most dangerous thing; it will undermine the security of all maritime navigation," Mr. Nasrallah declared.
