Yemen’s Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles towards Red Sea: CENTCOM

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles towards the Red Sea early on Saturday the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X.

It said no injuries were reported.

The attacks are the latest in a months-long campaign of Houthi strikes against regional shipping in what the group says is solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza war.

Earlier this month, the leader of Yemen’s Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi had said that all ships heading to Israeli ports would be attacked by the Iran-backed group, not just those in the Red Sea region which it has sought to strike before.

The Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes on ships in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden since November to show their support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war.

This has forced shippers to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and has stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilize the Middle East.