US strikes Houthi missile cache in Yemen, officials confirm

The United States military carried out a strike on Houthi targets in Yemen in retaliation against an attack on a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container.

U.S. forces struck a Houthi-owned cache of anti-ship ballistic missiles in Yemen on Tuesday, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. The strike was reportedly in direct response to a missile launched against U.S. vessels in the Red Sea.

"On Jan. 16 at approximately 1:45 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants launched an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea," a U.S. defense official told Fox News Digital. "M/V Zografia, a Maltese flagged bulk carrier, reported they were struck, but seaworthy, and were continuing their Red Sea transit. No injuries were reported."

HOUTHI CRUISE MISSILE FIRED FROM YEMEN TOWARD US WARSHIP SHOT DOWN BY FIGHTER JET: CENTCOM

Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against U.S. and U.K. strikes on Houthi-run military sites near Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)

"Additionally, following the Jan. 15 attack on the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship, on Jan. 16 at approximately 4:15 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles. These missiles were prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and presented an imminent threat to both merchant and U.S. Navy ships in the region."

The missiles, reportedly provided by Iran, were being prepared for use against merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. 

It is the first strike against Houthi infrastructure in Yemen confirmed by the U.S. military.

Houthi forces have taken credit for continued attacks on merchant vessels and threatened to expand their targets to include U.S. and British vessels — all in a campaign to support Hamas in its war against Israel.

Houthi rebels in Yemen fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward a U.S. warship in the Red Sea on Sunday, but it was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet.

WHO ARE THE HOUTHI REBELS ATTACKING COMMERCIAL SHIPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Members of the Yemeni coast guard affiliated with the Houthi group patrol the sea as demonstrators march through the Red Sea port city of Hodeida in solidarity with the people of Gaza, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the militant Hamas group in Gaza. (AFP via Getty Images)

An anti-ship cruise missile was fired at about 4:45 p.m. local time on Sunday from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon, which was operating in the Southern Red Sea, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). 

The U.S. said the missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis.

"The missile was shot down in [the] vicinity of the coast of Hudaydah by U.S. fighter aircraft. There were no injuries or damage reported," CENTCOM said in a statement.

Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against U.S. and U.K. strikes on Houthi-run military sites near Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)

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The attack by the Houthis was the first acknowledged by the U.S. since strikes on the rebels from the U.S. and allied nations began on Friday after weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

Shipping through the Red Sea has slowed because of the attacks. The U.S. Navy warned American-flagged vessels on Friday to avoid areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for 72 hours after the initial airstrikes.

The Houthis claimed, without providing evidence, that the U.S. struck a location near Hodeida on Sunday around the same time as the cruise missile attack. The U.S. and U.K. did not acknowledge conducting any strike, suggesting it may have been the result of a misfired Houthi missile.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby addressed the retaliatory strikes Tuesday at the daily White House press briefing. 

"We have said before, we'll say it again. We stand ready to defend our interests, our sailors, our ships and that of merchant shipping as required," Kirby told reporters, adding the United States is not looking to expand the conflict in the Middle East or start a war.

"The Houthis have a choice to make, and they still have time to make the right choice, which is to stop these reckless attacks," Kirby said. 

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.