The US Central Command announces that the Houthis targeted a Chinese ship over the southern Red Sea

The US Army's Central Command announced on Sunday that its forces clashed with 6 Houthi drones over the southern Red Sea, and destroyed 5 of them.

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The US Central Command, Centcom, said in a statement: “On March 23, the Iranian-backed Houthis launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles in the Red Sea near the Panama-flagged oil tanker (M/V Huang Pu), owned and operated by China.”

The statement added: “At 4:25 pm (Sanaa time), a fifth ballistic missile was detected and was launched towards the Huang Pu ship. The ship issued a distress call but did not request help. The ship suffered minor damage, and a fire on board was extinguished within 30 minutes.” There were no reports of casualties, and the ship resumed its course, and the Houthis attacked the ship despite previously announcing that they would not attack Chinese ships.

The statement added: “Between 6:50 and 9:50 a.m. (Sanaa time), American forces, including the ship (USS Carney), engaged six Houthi drones over the southern Red Sea. Five of them crashed in the Red Sea.” One flew to Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.

The statement concluded: “It has been determined that these drones represent an imminent threat to the United States, the coalition, and commercial ships in the region, and these measures are being taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for American, coalition, and commercial ships.”

Since last November, the Houthi "Ansar Allah" movement has continued its attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, targeting "Israeli ships associated with Israel or those heading to it," in order to "support the Palestinian people in Gaza," while the United States and its allies have formed a military force to deal with... Houthi strikes.

American and British aircraft launched several strikes on various areas in Yemen, while the American army carries out missions separately from any naval coalition in the region.