This handout picture taken on Jan 12, 2024 shows a fighter jet taking off from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) during flight operations in response to increased Iranian-backed Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. (PHOTO / AFP)

SANAA - Yemen's Houthi group said Wednesday that they launched a missile attack on a US commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, claiming a "direct hit".

The group said they targeted the vessel KOI, a container ship that was heading to Israeli ports, "in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and response to the US-British aggression against Yemen," according to a statement released by Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea.

He (Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea) added that all US and British ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea were "legitimate targets" for the group as long as the US-British "aggression" continued

Sarea said the attack was carried out with "several suitable naval missiles that directly hit the target."

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He said the attack came hours after the group fired missiles at a US destroyer, the USS Gravely, in the Red Sea.

He noted the Houthis would confront "any US-British escalation with escalation" and would not hesitate to launch more attacks in retaliation for any "foolishness" against Yemen.

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Furthermore, he added that all US and British ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea were "legitimate targets" for the group as long as the US-British "aggression" continued.

There was no immediate comment from the US side on the claims.

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Earlier Wednesday, the US Central Command said in a statement that US forces launched a strike on a Houthi missile launch site in northern Yemen and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was ready to launch. It said US forces identified the missile in Houthi-held areas of Yemen and determined it posed an imminent threat to US aircraft.

The Houthis confirmed that the US strike hit a site in the northern part of Saada city, according to a statement broadcast by al-Masirah TV.