A British fighter prepares to launch strikes against the Houthis (Getty)

The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) confirmed that an American MQ9 military drone was shot down by a missile launched by the Houthis, while the Central Command announced that 10 Houthi drones had been shot down.

The Pentagon's confirmation came from the ministry's deputy spokesperson, Sabrina Singh, who said in a press conference that the drone was shot down by a missile launched by the Houthis.

The Wall Street Journal quoted an American official as saying that, for the first time since the start of the attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Ansar Allah Houthis deliberately targeted American military ships with anti-ship missiles.

It also quoted an American official as saying that last Sunday, the Houthis struck American military ships for the first time with anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Meanwhile, the British maritime security company Ambrey said that the Houthis targeted a cargo ship flying the Liberian flag heading to Somalia on Tuesday.

The Houthis said that they targeted the Israeli cargo ship (MSC Silver) with a number of missiles in the Gulf of Aden near the Red Sea.

The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, did not provide further details, but he said in a statement that the group also used drones to target a number of American warships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, in addition to sites in Eilat in southern Israel.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said in a post on X yesterday, Tuesday, "There is no danger to international or European navigation as long as there are no aggressive operations, and thus there is no need to militarize the Red Sea."

He added, "What the world is impatiently awaiting is not the militarization of the Red Sea, but rather an urgent and comprehensive announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza for humanitarian reasons that are not hidden from anyone."

10 marches

In another development, the US Army announced - in a statement by the US Central Military Command (Centcom) - that US and allied forces shot down 10 drones off the coast of Yemen, while two US-owned cargo ships sustained minor damage as a result of attacks.

On Monday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on two American ships.

The French Ministry of the Armed Forces also announced that its navy destroyed two drones over the Red Sea at night, but it was not immediately clear whether these two drones were among the toll that the US military command announced they shot down.

Centcom said that a US destroyer shot down an anti-ship cruise missile that was “directed at it” early Tuesday, while US forces destroyed a drone and a missile launch pad in Yemen on Monday.

Houthi media outlets announced at dawn on Wednesday what they described as a US-British aggression that targeted the Al-Jabanah area in the city of Hodeidah with two raids.

On Monday, two anti-ship ballistic missiles hit the Sea Champion grain cargo ship owned by an American party and flying the Greek flag, causing minor damage to it, while a drone hit the cargo ship Navis Fortuna, also owned by an American party and flying the flag of the Marshall Islands.

Since last November 19, the Houthis have been launching attacks in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea against commercial ships they suspect of being linked to Israel or heading to its ports. They say that this comes in support of the Gaza Strip, which has been witnessing a war waged by Israel since last October 7.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies