CENTCOM says Houthi missiles fired at cargo ship, U.S. warship in Red Sea

Shafaq News/ The U.S. military's Central Command said Monday that Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels had fired an anti-ship ballistic missile at a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship called the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, as the rebel group continued its assault on global shipping in the Red Sea. It said there were no injuries or significant damage reported aboard the civilian vessel, corroborating earlier reports by a British maritime security firm that said the missile had caused an inconsequential fire in the ship's hold.

"Earlier in the day, at approximately 2 p.m. (Yemen local time), U.S. Forces detected an anti-ship ballistic missile fired toward the Southern Red Sea commercial shipping lanes," CENTCOM said in a statement posted to social media. "The missile failed in flight and impacted on land in Yemen. There were no injuries or damage reported."

The latest attacks on commercial shipping came a day after CENTCOM said it had shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from by the Houthis toward the American warship USS Laboon as it operated in the Red Sea. It was the first acknowledged attack by the Houthis on a U.S. warship since the U.S. and U.K. militaries started striking the Houthis after weeks of attacks by the Iran-backed group on cargo ships in the crucial shipping corridor.

The Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea with missiles and explosives-laden drones for weeks, claiming it as a legitimate response to Israel's ongoing war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The missile that had been fired toward the USS Laboon "was shot down in vicinity of the coast of Hudaydah (a port on Yemen's west coast) by U.S. fighter aircraft. There were no injuries or damage reported," CENTCOM said in a statement late Sunday.

President Biden announced U.S. and allied strikes on the Houthis in a statement Thursday night and, on Friday alone, 28 Houthi locations were targeted with bombs and missiles launched from air and sea. The strikes continued over the weekend, with U.S. forces hitting a Houthi radar site on Saturday, the AP reported.

The U.S. and allied strikes had not dissuaded the Houthis from targeting cargo ships in the vital shipping corridor and Mohammed Abdulsalam, a chief political negotiator for the rebel movement, told the Reuters news agency the "attacks to prevent Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of the occupied Palestine will continue."

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency first reported the strike on the M/V Gibraltar Eagle on Monday, saying a "vessel was hit from above by a missile" in Yemeni waters. The agency did not provide any further details, but it urged any vessels transiting the area to exercise "extreme caution," CBS News partner network BBC News reported.

The U.K.'s Sky News, meanwhile, cited private maritime security company Ambrey as saying the missile had caused a fire in the hold of commercial vessel with no link to Israel, but that the ship remained seaworthy with no casualties reported.

The U.K. participated in the strikes against the Houthis, which British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a "last resort" after "exhaustive diplomatic activity" and warnings from Washington and London for the militants to stop attacking ships.

"We of course will not hesitate to protect our security where required," Sunak said.