The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Sunday, January 14, that a US fighter jet shot down an anti-ship cruise missile after it was allegedly fired from Yemen towards one of the US warships operating off the coast of Hodeidah, USS Laboon.
The statement claimed that no injuries or damage was reported in the attack.
This was the first reported incident of a retaliation carried out by Ansar Allah (also called the Houthis) after the US and the UK jointly carried out airstrikes at different locations inside Yemen for three consecutive days between January 12 and 14.
Early morning on Saturday, Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles were fired from the USS Carney targeting Yemen’s radar site. The CENTCOM claimed it was a “follow-on action on a specific military target associated with strikes taken on January 12.”
According to Al-Mayadeen, the US and the UK carried out a third attack inside Yemen on Sunday targeting the coastal province of Hodeidah. The report also stated that at least seven Yemeni soldiers have been killed in the US and UK attacks since January 12.
The US has repeatedly claimed that its attacks on Yemen have nothing to do with its so-called Operation Prosperity Guardian, an international maritime alliance created in reaction to Houthis targeting Israel-bound ships in the Red Sea as part of their solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
At least 26 vessels have been attacked by Houthis in the Red Sea since the capture of Galaxy Leader in November. The US claims that Houthi attacks constitute a threat to “freedom of navigation.”
Following the attacks, traffic through the Red Sea, facilitating trade worth USD 3 to 6 billion daily, has gone down at least 40% since Houthis started attacking the ships in the region.
Houthis have denied allegations that it has restricted freedom of navigation through the Red Sea, arguing that they have only targeted Israel-bound ships and that other ships are free to move across the region. They have also stated that they will not stop their attacks on Israel-bound ships until it stops the genocide in Gaza.
The Israeli war in Gaza which began on October 7 completed 100 days on Monday January 15. More than 24,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 60,000 have been wounded in Israeli bombings and ground offensive inside densely populated territory so far. Over 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is displaced due to the war.
Following the attacks on Friday, Houthis had declared that all US and UK vessels in the Red Sea are legitimate targets of attacks.
One of the members of Ansar Allah (Houthi) political bureau, Ali al-Qahoum told IRNA on Monday that, “After this aggression [Friday’s attacks inside] Yemen will turn into the graveyard of the Americans and they will leave the region in humiliation.”
Al-Qahoum claimed that the US and the UK would pay a heavy price for attacking Yemen as Yemenis are fully prepared to “enter a direct and all out war.”
