US forces see off Houthi cruise missile attack

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile towards an American destroyer in the Red Sea, but a US fighter jet shot it down in the latest attack roiling global shipping, officials said.

The attack marks the first American-acknowledged fire by the Houthis since the US and allied nations last week began strikes on the rebels after weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted the shipping lane during the Israel-Hamas war, in attacks that threaten to widen the conflict into a regional conflagration.

The Houthis, a Shiite rebel group allied with Iran that seized Yemen’s capital in 2014, did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

The Houthi fire went in the direction of the USS Laboon, a destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the US military Central Command said.

The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port long held by the Houthis, the US said. ‘‘An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon,’’ Central Command said. ‘‘There were no injuries or damage reported.’’

The first day of US-led strikes hit 28 locations and more than 60 targets, with cruise missiles and bombs launched by fighter jets, warships and a submarine on Friday. Sites hit included weapons depots, radars and command centres, including in remote mountain areas, the US has said.

The Houthis have yet to say how severe the damage was from the strikes, which they said killed five of their troops and wounded six others. US forces followed up with a strike on a Houthi radar site on Saturday.

The US Navy on Friday warned American-flagged vessels to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for 72 hours after the initial airstrikes.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas.