US carries out fresh strikes on Yemen taking out four Houthi anti-ship missiles that jihadists were preparing to launch

The US carried out four new strikes on Yemen on Tuesday, targeting anti-ship ballistic missiles used by the Houthi rebels.

U.S. officials said Yemeni rebels were preparing to use the facility to continue their attacks on Western ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

“The US carried out self-defense strikes against four Houthi ballistic missiles that posed an immediate threat to merchant ships and US naval vessels,” a US official told AFP.

It is the latest move by the US military against the Iran-linked group for its attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, after it declared war on the US over its support for Israel in the war against Hamas.

The attacks came a day after Yemeni rebels attacked a US cargo ship on Monday.

Tuesday’s US strikes against Yemen came a day after Houthis rebels attacked the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged container ship owned and operated by the US.

The US Central Command said Iran-backed Houthi militants fired the anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, hitting the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged container ship owned by and operated by the US.

Shell announced on Tuesday that it would suspend all its shipments to the Red Sea following the attack.

A tanker chartered by Shell carrying Indian aviation fuel was targeted by the jihadists last month. The ship was attacked by a drone and harassed by rebel boats.

Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea continue even after the US and Britain launched a first wave of attacks last week to degrade the Houthis’ capabilities.

But unlike last week’s initial U.S. strikes, which targeted pre-planned targets, Tuesday’s strikes appeared to demonstrate that the U.S. military would proactively go after the Houthi military capabilities as they are discovered. If confirmed, this would herald a much more assertive stance by the US military against the Houthis.

Central Command on Monday announced the first seizure in more than four years of advanced Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missile components during a Jan. 11 operation in which two Navy SEALs were lost at sea near the coast of Somalia.

“Preliminary analyzes indicate that the same weapons have been used by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent sailors on international merchant ships transiting the Red Sea,” the Central Command said in a statement.

On Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched an attack on a US destroyer in the Red Sea

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, claim their attacks on commercial ships are aimed at supporting the Palestinians in Israel’s war in Gaza. Their attacks have disrupted global shipping and fueled fears of global inflation. They have also heightened concerns that the fallout from the war between Israel and Hamas could destabilize the Middle East.

The Houthi movement has vowed to continue attacks despite last week’s strikes on radar and missile capabilities. Some experts believe they welcome conflict with the United States and its allies.

On Sunday, the Houthi fire was toward the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement.

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the US said.

The Houthis have attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea that they claim are bound for Israel as they seek to support the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

A US fighter jet shot down the Houthi cruise missile from the sky over the Red Sea on Sunday before it could hit its target, the USS Laboon.

Rebels posed with machine guns and rocket launchers in photos released on Sunday. Fighters were also photographed earlier this weekend doing exercises and filming themselves in terrain that resembled Jewish settlements.

The US military and its allies began airstrikes against the rebels on Friday after weeks of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthi fire on Sunday headed toward the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, Central Command said.

The rocket came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis. “An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas in Yemen towards USS Laboon,” Central Command said.

“No injuries or damage were reported.” The first day of US-led strikes on Friday hit 28 locations and hit more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs.

Locations affected included weapons depots, radars and command centers, including in remote mountain areas.

The Houthis have yet to acknowledge the extent of the damage to infrastructure caused by the attacks, which they say killed five of their troops and injured six others.

But two officials told the New York Times on Sunday that they still have about 75 percent of their ability to fire missiles and drones at ships transiting the Red Sea.

This is despite the fact that the US and its allies claim to have damaged or destroyed about 90 percent of the affected targets.