(Dubai) Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile at a US destroyer in the Red Sea on Sunday, but a US warplane shot it down.
It was the latest attack disrupting global shipping amid the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The attack is the first to have been recognized by Washington since the United States and its allies began strikes against the rebels on Friday, following weeks of attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, a Shiite rebel group allied with Iran, did not immediately recognize the attack.
The Houthi fire targeted the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern Red Sea, the US military’s Central Command said in a statement.
The missile came from Hodeidah, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the United States said.
“An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from the Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen towards the USS Laboon,” Central Command said.
“No injuries or damage were reported,” it added.
On its first day of strikes, Friday, the United States hit 28 sites and more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs launched by fighter jets, warships and a submarine.
American forces followed up on Saturday with a strike on a Houthi radar site.