WASHINGTON
\nUS Central Command forces on Friday conducted strikes against three Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed into the Southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch, the U.S. military said on X, formerly called Twitter.
\n\u201cUS forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region. U.S. forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missiles in self-defense,\u201d the U.S. Central Command said in the post on X.
\nThe incident, the latest amid growing tensions, opens new tab in the Red Sea that have disrupted global trade and raised fears of supply bottlenecks, took place around 6:45 p.m. Yemen time (1545 GMT), the U.S. Central Command added.
\nAttacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia on ships in and around the Red Sea for the past several weeks have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major powers in an escalation of the war in Gaza.
\nThe Houthis, who control the most populous part of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians under attack from Israel in Gaza.
\nSince last week, the United States has been launching strikes, opens new tab on Houthi targets in Yemen, and this week returned the militia to a list of \u201cterrorist\u201d groups.
\nPresident Joe Biden said on Thursday that air strikes would continue even as he acknowledged they may not be halting the Houthi attacks.
\nThe confrontation risks an expansion of the conflict beyond Hamas-governed Gaza, where the local health ministry says over 24,000 people – or more than 1% of Gaza\u2019s 2.3 million population – have been killed in Israel\u2019s assault.
\nIsrael launched its offensive following Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group, which Israeli officials say killed 1,200 people.
\nWhite House spokesperson John Kirby said Friday\u2019s strikes were the fourth in the past week by the U.S. military against Houthi missile launchers that were prepared to launch attacks.
\nThe Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a U.S.-owned tanker ship late on Thursday that hit the water near the vessel but caused no injuries or damage, according to the U.S. military.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON US Central Command forces on Friday conducted strikes against three Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed into the Southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch, the U.S. military said on X, formerly called Twitter. \u201cUS forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-382045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n