US Navy intercepts missiles heading north from Yemen, 'potentially' toward Israel: Pentagon

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A U.S. Navy destroyer intercepted several missiles fired near the coast of Yemen on Thursday, though it is unclear what the missiles were targeting, Pentagon officials said.

U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed Thursday that the crew of the USS Carney, a guided missile destroyer operating in the Northern Red Sea, shot down three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.

"This action was a demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture that we have built in the Middle East and that we are prepared to utilize whenever necessary to protect our partners and our interests in this important region," Ryder said, adding there were no casualties to U.S. forces, nor any on the ground that he knows of. "Information on these engagements is still being processed, and we cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting."

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The USS Carney took out three missiles Thursday that had been fired from Yemen and were heading north, U.S. officials said. (Mass Communication Spc. 1st Class Ryan U. Kledzik/U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa via AP/File)

The missiles were launched from Yemen and were heading north along the Red Sea, "potentially" toward targets in Israel, Ryder said.

According to Ryder, the response was one the U.S. military would have taken for any similar threat in the region.

"This attack may be ongoing," he said. "As [Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin] has made clear, we have the capability to defend our broader interests in the region."

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Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/File)

"The crew of the Carney did just that, and across the force we will remain vigilant to any other potential threat," Ryder added.

The Department of Defense is in the process of bolstering forces in the Middle East to deter a wider conflict, but also bolster stability and defend national security interests.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy announced it would be sending the USS Mount Whitney to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea as tensions in the Middle East rise amid the Israel-Hamas war.

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The U.S. 6th Fleet Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney departed Gaeta, Italy, on Wednesday in support of U.S. operations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images/File)

The USS Mount Whitney, the Navy’s command and control ship, left Gaeta, Italy, on Wednesday to join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group in support of U.S. Operations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Also in the area is a special operations capable Marine rapid response force of nearly 2,000 Marines and sailors known as the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is moving closer to Israel via the Red Sea. The group includes the amphibious ready groups USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall.

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Ryder said the USS Mesa Verde is also in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Fox News Digital's Liz Friden contributed to this report.