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Houthis launch more missiles toward U.S. ships

A home destroyed by an airstrike in the old city of Sana, Yemen, on Oct. 23, 2018. The Houthi militia in Yemen, strategically located at the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has propelled itself into an unlikely global spotlight in recent weeks as it has sown chaos in the Red Sea, attacking commercial ships and hobbling global trade. The Houthis have portrayed their campaign of missiles and drone attacks as a righteous battle to force Israel to end its siege on Gaza. (TYLER HICKS)
By Vivek Shankar </p><p>and Matthew Mpoke Bigg New York Times

An anti-ship missile fired by Houthi fighters struck a U.S.-owned commercial ship off the coast of Yemen on Monday, but the vessel and its crew were not seriously harmed, according to the U.S. military’s Central Command and Britain’s maritime trade agency.

The strike, along with a reported missile launch at a U.S. Navy ship Sunday, are a continuation of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia’s attacks on Red Sea shipping, and came after airstrikes that the United States led against the group last week.

The missile fired Monday hit the Gibraltar Eagle, a bulk carrier owned by a U.S. company and flagged to the Marshall Islands, causing no significant damage or injuries, the U.S. military said in a post on social media. The British agency, which monitors ship traffic, said earlier that the missile had hit the port side of the vessel, which had been sailing southeast of the port city of Aden, Yemen.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the reports.

Starting Friday, the United States has led strikes in response to more than two dozen Houthi attacks on freight ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks that have disrupted the commercial shipping industry. American and British officials say the U.S.-led strikes, intended to degrade the Houthis’ ability to keep attacking shipping, were aimed at radar stations, missile launch sites and other military targets.

On Sunday, the United States said that it had shot down a missile fired by Houthi fighters at one of its Navy ships in the Red Sea, in one of the first skirmishes between the two sides since the United States attacked the militia inside Yemen.

The Houthis launched an anti-ship cruise missile at the USS Laboon, a destroyer, on Sunday at about 4:45 p.m. Yemen time, the U.S. military said on social media. The missile was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet near the coast of the city of Hodeida, and no injuries or damage were reported, the U.S. military said.

The military actions of the Houthis, a Yemeni militia that has said it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinian people, have stirred fears of the Israel-Hamas conflict spreading further into the Middle East. But even as the United States and its allies attacked Houthi sites in Yemen, for now it appears both the U.S. and Iran are taking care not to put their forces in direct combat.

Last week, after clearly telegraphing its intentions, the United States destroyed about 30 Houthi sites. But U.S. officials acknowledged that the Houthis still have about three-fourths of their ability to fire missiles and drones at ships making voyages through the Red Sea.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.