American forces destroyed two Huthi anti-ship missiles in Yemen that posed an imminent threat to ships in the area, the US military said Tuesday.

The United States and Britain have carried out two rounds of joint strikes aimed at reducing the Huthis’ ability to target shipping, while Washington has also launched a series of unilateral air raids on the Iran-backed rebels’ missiles.

The latest strikes — which took place early on Wednesday morning Yemen time — targeted “two Huthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed into the Southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

“US forces identified the missiles in Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” CENTCOM said.

The Huthis began striking Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in a show of force to support Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Hamas-Israel war.

The Yemeni rebels have since declared US and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

In addition to military action, Washington is seeking to put diplomatic and financial pressure on the Huthis, redesignating them as a terrorist organization last week after previously having dropped that label soon after President Joe Biden took office.BSS/AFP