This handout photograph taken on January 27, 2024 and released by the Indian Ministry of Defence shows smoke billowing from the British oil tanker MV Merlin Luanda after the Indian Navy deployed the INS Visakhapatnam following a distress call by the vessel while transiting through the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea. (PHOTO / INDIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE / AFP)

SANAA / NEW DELHI - The US-British maritime coalition launched two strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Saturday morning, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

The strikes, which came a few hours after the Houthis struck a British oil tanker, hit the Ras Issa coastal area in the northwestern part of the city, the report said.

The US retaliatory strikes came a few hours after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a British oil tanker, Marlin Luanda, in the Gulf of Aden on Friday

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said it conducted a self-defense strike against a Houthi missile.

"On Jan 27 at approximately 3:45 am (Yemen time), the US Central Command Forces conducted a strike against a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed at the Red Sea and which was prepared to launch," the US Central Command said on X, formerly Twitter.

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"The US Forces identified the missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined it presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region. The US Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defense," it said.

The US retaliatory strikes came a few hours after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a British oil tanker, Marlin Luanda, in the Gulf of Aden on Friday.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British maritime observer agency, confirmed the attack on the tanker and said on X that the tanker called for assistance after it caught fire following the Houthi missile attack.

A guided-missile destroyer of the Indian Navy, INS Visakhapatnam, responded to an SOS call by Marlin Launda, which was hit on Friday night. According to officials, the tanker has 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew onboard.

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"The firefighting efforts onboard the distressed MV is being augmented by the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence (NBCD) team along with firefighting equipment, deployed by INS Visakhapatnam to assist the crew onboard the MV," a statement issued by the Indian Navy said.

The Houthi forces control much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

On Jan 17, the United States re-designated the Houthi group as a "global terrorist organization" and said the designation would take effect next month.