The US military on Tuesday carried out a new strike in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthis over their targeting of Red Sea shipping.
Two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the strike targeted four anti-ship missiles.
One of the officials said the missiles were struck because they were being prepared to target ships in the region. The US strike came a day after Houthi forces hit the US-owned and operated dry bulk ship Gibraltar Eagle with an anti-ship ballistic missile.
This comes as US naval forces have seized the first batch of Iranian weapons components bound for Houthis since the militant group began its Red Sea attacks late last year.
US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said US Navy Seals, supported by helicopters and drones, conducted a night-time seizure of a vessel off the coast of Somalia, south of Yemen. They said it had been illegally transporting weapons parts to the Houthis. “Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea,” the statement read.
It comes as the the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced they were investigating a missile attack on another commercial vessel in the Red Sea.
