US shoots down anti-ship cruise missile fired by Houthis toward Red Sea

The United States shot down one anti-ship cruise missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthi militants from Yemen towards the Red Sea on Tuesday. Giving update of the incident, the US military Central Command, in a post on X, said: “On 30 January, at approximately 11:30 pm (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired one anti-ship cruise missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Red Sea. It further said a US destroyer (USS Gravely DDG 107) in the area shot the missile fired by Houthi militants. “There were no injuries or damage reported,” the US Central Command added.

On Jan. 30, at approximately 11:30 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired one anti-ship cruise missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Red Sea. The missile was shot down by USS Gravely (DDG 107). There were no injuries or damage reported. pic.twitter.com/Wf1OhwPhhW

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 31, 2024

This came within days after three US service members were killed and as many as 34 others were wounded in a drone drone attack by Houthis on US troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border. On Tuesday, Al-Asad Air Base in Western Iraq was targeted again by a single rocket. The three soldiers killed in the Jordan strike were the first US military fatalities in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out. US President Joe Biden is under pressure for a strong response with Republicans accusing the Democratic president of letting American forces become sitting ducks. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Biden said he has made up his mind on how to respond to a drone attack that killed US service members in Jordan. Speaking to reported, the US President said his country does not need a wider war in the Middle East, echoing comments from other officials that the nation does not want a war with Iran. “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for,” Biden said. The US President replied “yes” when questioned if he had decided how to respond to the attacks. When asked if Iran was responsible, Biden added: “I do hold … them responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons” to those who carried out the attacks. A US military official has informed that there have been a total of 166 attacks on US military installations since 18 October, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and now one in Jordan. With inputs from agencies