The US armed forces they announced today that yesterday Saturday they shot down over the south Red Sea remotely piloted unmanned aerial system (UAS) and two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in two separate operations.

No injuries or damage to ships moving in the area were reported, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff for the Middle East assured via X (CENTCOM“central Command”).

The drone was destroyed during the day yesterday, he said, while two more such systems were seen falling into the sea, he said.

In the evening, CENTCOM forces “successfully” intercepted two anti-ship ballistic missiles over the Red Sea, he continued.

The missiles had been fired “in the direction of the USS Gravely”, an American destroyer of the Arleigh Burke class, and were “destroyed in legitimate defense”, with no “injuries or damage” being reported either, he added.

Since mid-November, the Iranian-backed Yemeni Shiite militia Ansar Allah (“Supporters of God”), better known by the family name of its leaders, the Houthis, has launched dozens of missile and drone attacks on commercial and then warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, stressing that it is acting in “solidarity” with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, against the backdrop of the devastating war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas that broke out on October 7.

The US, Israel’s main international ally, in December formed an international force to protect navigation in this strategically important maritime area. A naval force was also deployed earlier this year by the EU.

And since January, US armed forces, acting in many cases in cooperation with those of Britain, have been hitting Houthi positions and facilities in Yemen. In retaliation, the rebels announced that they are now expanding their attacks and will also target US and British warships and merchant ships.