The United States says it hit three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, an unmanned underwater vessel and an unmanned surface vessel.
The United States has carried out five strikes in areas of Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
It said it attacked three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, an unmanned surface ship and an unmanned underwater vessel (UUV) on Saturday.
“This is the first observed Houthi employment of a UUV since the attacks began on October 23,” CENTCOM said in a post on X on Sunday.
CENTCOM said it had determined that the missiles and ships posed an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the area.
There was no immediate comment from the Iran-aligned Houthi group.
The attacks come amid rising tensions in the region, where Houthi fighters have carried out attacks on commercial and military ships since November.
The Houthis initially said they would attack ships linked to Israel in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, but later expanded their targets to include ships linked to the United Kingdom and the United States.
London and Washington have responded by attacking Houthi targets in Yemen several times, characterizing Houthi attacks as indiscriminate and a threat to global trade.
On Saturday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a British oil tanker that the United States identified as a Panama-flagged ship carrying crude oil bound for India.
Faced with growing insecurity in the Red Sea, major shipping lines have largely abandoned the critical trade route in favor of longer routes around Africa. This has increased costs, fueling concerns about global inflation while sapping Egypt of crucial foreign revenue from shippers using the Suez Canal to or from the Red Sea.
“While we continue to hope for a sustainable resolution in the near future and do everything we can to help achieve it, we encourage customers to prepare for complications in the area to persist and significant disruption to the global network.” shipping giant Maersk said in January.
