TEHRAN, Mar. 13 (MNA) – The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early Wednesday that Yemen’s Sanaa government's army fired a close-range ballistic missile toward the destroyer USS Laboon in the Red Sea.

“United States Central Command and a coalition vessel successfully engaged and destroyed two unmanned aerial systems (UAS) launched from a Ansarullah-controlled area of Yemen,” CENTCOM said in a statement, according to Anadolu Agency.

The vessel was not impacted by the missile and no injuries or damage were reported, claimed CENTCOM.

Yemen’s Sanaa government's armed forces have been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from occupied Israeli-controlled territories in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli regime's onslaught since Oct. 7 last year.

The Yemenis say their attacks aim to pressure Zionist occupying regime to halt its deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip, which have killed around 31,200 Palestinians and injured over 72,900 others since an Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas, which killed about 1,200 Zionists armed settlers and soldiers. 

The US and UK launched airstrikes as of Jan. 12 against the Yemeni Sanaa government in retaliation for the group’s attacks, with the Yemenis declaring that they consider all American and British ships military targets.

The Red Sea is one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments, and the attacks on shipping have disrupted trade, raising fears of a new bout of inflation and supply chain disruption.

MNA