The U.S. military shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile and three one-way remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles Tuesday that Yemen’s Houthis fired at the U.S. destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) in the Red Sea, according to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. which is responsible for the Middle East region (CENTCOM, “central command”).

US forces later destroyed three anti-ship missiles and three naval drones belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi movement in “legitimate self-defense,” CENTCOM added via X (formerly Twitter).

Earlier, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Shari said an operation was carried out against two US destroyers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones.

The Houthis, who control almost all of northern Yemen, have been launching attacks since November 19 against merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, especially those they say are “connected” to Israel, in a show of “solidarity” with the Palestinians in Gaza Strip in the middle of the Israel/Hamas war.

Their actions forced major shipping companies to suspend their ships in the strategically important region, through which about 12% of world trade passes.

To counter their attacks, the US, Israel’s main ally, formed a multinational coalition in December to “protect” international shipping. And, since mid-January, the US and British armed forces have launched a series of bombings in Yemen against Houthi positions and weapons, which they now describe as “legitimate targets” of US and British ships.