The US military confirmed in the early hours of the morning that Yemen’s Houthi rebels had fired two anti-surface ballistic missiles (ASBMs) at the cargo ship Pinocchio in the Red Sea, but said there were no casualties or damage.

“From 08:50 to 12:50 (Sanaa time; 07:50 to 11:50 Greek time), the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas against merchant ship Pinocchio, Liberian-flagged vessel, Singapore interest. The missiles did not hit the vessel, and no injuries or damage were reported,” the US military’s joint command center in charge of the Middle East region (CENTCOM, “central command”) said.

Earlier, the Houthis announced through their military spokesman Yahya Shari that they had targeted what they described as the “American” container ship Pinocchio in the Red Sea.

The Yemeni movement Ansar Allah (“Supporters of God”), better known by the surname of the family of its leaders, also conveyed through the representative of Shari that it will escalate actions of this nature, in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In its statement released via X (formerly Twitter), CENTCOM also noted that US forces destroyed, during six strikes “in self-defense”, a remote-controlled unmanned submarine and 18 anti-ship missiles in areas controlled by its Houthis. Yemeni.

Attacks by the rebels, who control almost all of northern Yemen, have forced major shipping companies to suspend their ships in the strategically important region, which before the war handled 12 percent to 15 percent of world trade.

Airstrikes attributed to US and British forces on ports and towns in western Yemen killed at least 11 people and wounded 14 others last night, a spokesman for the country’s internationally recognized government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, said. to Reuters news agency.

Since mid-January, the US and British armed forces have repeatedly launched bombardments against Houthi positions or weapons systems in order to prevent attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The deadly shelling came days after the first sailor deaths from a Houthi missile strike on a merchant ship and the first sinking of a merchant ship from another Houthi strike. They also took place on the first day of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer for Muslims.