Four anti-ship missiles were fired from areas controlled by the Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, in Yemen, with at least three of them targeting Danish merchant ship MT Pollux in the Red Sea, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.
” … four anti-ship ballistic missiles launched from Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea. It is assessed that at least three of the missiles were launched towards commercial vessel MT Pollux, a Panamanian-flagged, Denmark-owned, Panamanian-registered vessel. There were no reported injuries or damage from MT Pollux or any other ship in the area,” the command said in a statement.
At the same time, US forces launched on Friday self-defense strikes against one anti-ship cruise missile and one mobile unmanned surface vessel (USV) in Yemeni waters, the statement added.
“CENTCOM identified the mobile missile and USV in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined it presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region,” the statement read.
The Ansar Allah movement, which controls much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, has previously warned of its intention to attack any ships linked to Israel, calling on other countries to recall their crews and stay away from them at sea. A number of shipping companies have decided to suspend traffic through the Red Sea.
The Houthis have previously said that their actions in the Red Sea are aimed at helping the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, saying that they do not interfere with freedom of navigation in the region.
