The Houthis and the U.S. continued to trade strikes on Wednesday, with the U.S. taking out two anti-ship missiles early Wednesday morning local time, U.S. Central Command announced.
About 12 hours later, the Houthis returned strikes, firing three anti-ship ballistic missiles at M/V Maersk Detroit, which is owned by a U.S. company and sailing under a U.S. flag in the Gulf of Aden, according to a Wednesday Central Command release.
Maersk lists the ship as traveling to the terminal in Algeciras, Spain, with it scheduled to make a port call on Jan. 28. The ship last stopped in Salalah, Oman, on Jan. 17.
USS Gravely (DDG-107) shot down two of the missiles, while another landed in the water. No damage or injuries were reported.
The Houthis and the U.S. have been exchanging strikes since Jan. 11, when the U.S. and U.K. joined together to strike 30 Houthi targets. On Monday, the two countries once again coordinated strikes against the Yemen-based group, recently redesignated as a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department.
The Defense and State departments claim the Houthis are attacking shipping to disrupt the flow of commerce in the Red Sea, while the Houthis say they are attacking Israeli-linked ships to protest Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. The Houthis began attacking ships in the Red Sea following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent bombing of Gaza.
The Houthis have also said they will attack American and British ships in retaliation for what they describe as aggressive actions against the group.
