U.S-led coalition launches 4 strikes in Yemen's Hodeidah: Houthi TV

SANAA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition launched four strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Thursday, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

The strikes occurred in the area of al-Jabbanah in the northwestern part of the city, the television said without elaborating further.

No casualties were reported in the strikes and the residents in Hodeidah described the explosions as very powerful.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said U.S. aircraft and coalition warship shot down six Iranian-backed Houthi one-way attack (OWA) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Red Sea.

"The OWA UAVs were identified by U.S. Central Command as likely targeting U.S. and coalition warships and were an imminent threat," the command said on its X account.

The command said the Houthis later fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Gulf of Aden. "The missiles impacted MV Islander, a Palau-flagged Britain-owned cargo carrier, causing one minor injury and damage. The ship is continuing its voyage," it added.

The Houthi group later also claimed responsibility for the missile attack, which resulted in a fire on the vessel.

This was the latest of a series of attacks by Houthis that had forced many shipping companies to re-route around the southern tip of Africa.

Also on Thursday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi vowed again to launch more attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

"More attacks will come," he said in his speech aired by the Houthi-run satellite TV channel al-Masirah.