Washington: The USS Laboon destroyer came under a missile attack carried out by Yemen’s rebel Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, in the Red Sea, the US Central Command said on Monday, adding that a US fighter jet intercepted the missile before it hit the warship.

“On January 14 at approximately 4:45 p.m. (Sanaa time), an anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen towards USS Laboon (DDG 58), which was operating in the Southern Red Sea,” the command said in a statement.
A US fighter jet shot down the missile off the coast of Yemen near the city of Al Hudaydah, the statement added.

In November 2023, the Houthis announced their intention to attack any ships associated with Israel, urging other countries to recall their crews from the vessels. The Houthis vowed to continue their attacks until Israel ended its military actions in the Gaza Strip.

On December 19, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure the Red Sea, saying that the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain would take part in the mission. The Houthis vowed to attack any ships that join the US-led maritime coalition.

In the early hours of Friday, the US and UK military carried out 23 airstrikes on targets in four provinces in different parts of Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa and the cities of Al Hudaydah, Taizz, and Sadah, local government sources told Sputnik. Later in the day, US Air Force Central said that US strikes against the Houthis in Yemen had hit more than 60 targets in 16 different locations.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria later said the US and the UK had carried out 73 strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, killing five fighters and injuring six others. A member of Houthis’ high political council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, described the Western attacks as “barbaric terrorism” and “deliberate and unjustified aggression.”

UNI