US forces destroyed an uncrewed aerial system launched over the Red Sea from an area of Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthis, the US Central Command (CENTCIM) said.

Hours prior to CENTCOM’s report, Houthi militia said it had launched attacks on three ships in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, and two US destroyers in the Red Sea.

The group, which describes its attacks as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Israel’s war in Gaza, said the ships were the Larego Desert and the MSC Mechela in the Indian Ocean, and the Minerva Lisa in the Red Sea. It did not name the destroyers.

The group has launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea region since November, later expanding to the Indian Ocean. It has said it will attack any ships sailing towards Israeli ports, even in the Mediterranean Sea.

Its attacks have forced shippers to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and stoked fears of the Israel-Hamas war spreading and destabilizing the Middle East.

The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in retaliation for their attacks on vessels.