U.S.-owned commercial ship reportedly hit by missile near Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A missile attack on Monday targeted a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, a senior Yemeni coast guard official told Xinhua.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Marshall Islands-flagged ship M/V Gibraltar Eagle was struck by a missile while sailing 95 nautical miles off the coast of Aden in international waters.

The U.S. Central Command confirmed the attack, saying that on Jan. 15 at approximately 4 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), "Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship. The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey."

It was reported that at approximately 2 p.m. local time (1100 GMT), U.S. forces detected an anti-ship ballistic missile fired toward the southern Red Sea commercial shipping lanes. The missile failed in flight and impacted land in Yemen. There were no injuries or damage reported.

Since November 2023, Yemen's Houthi group has been carrying out military operations targeting ships in the Red Sea, which it says are bound for Israel. The operations came amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

Last Friday, the United States and Britain launched a series of airstrikes on Houthi targets in Sanaa and other areas of Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.