US shoots down aerial vehicle launched from Houthi-controlled areas

A pair of missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that missed the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the vessel and personnel.

The United States shot down an aerial vehicle launched from a Houthi-controlled area in response to a call from a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in the southern Red Sea on Wednesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said early on Thursday.

The US Navy destroyer Mason shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle launched from Houthi-controlled areas after the group attacked the commercial vessel Ardmore Encounter in skiffs, CENTCOM said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A pair of missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that missed the ship, and the Ardmore Encounter was able to proceed without further incident, CENTCOM added.

There were no reported injuries or damage to the vessel and personnel, CENTCOM said.

This is the latest in a series of incidents where the Houthi group, based in the north of Yemen has targeted vessels it says are Israeli-owned or ships it says are heading to Israel.

The Sanaa based group has obstructed their passage through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.