US military says it destroyed Houthi missiles in pre-emptive strikes

American forces operating in the Red Sea have destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, one missile launcher and a drone originating from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the US military said early Thursday.

In a statement on the X platform, the Central Command said its forces conducted four self-defense strikes against the Houthi missiles between 12 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. (Sanaa time), on Feb. 21, as they were prepared to launch towards targets in the Red Sea.

“A one-way attack unmanned aircraft system (UAS) was also shot in self-defense by CENTCOM forces,” the statement said.

It added that the missiles, launchers and UAS were identified to originate from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the US Navy ships in the region.”