Singapore container ship escapes Houthi missile attack unscathed

March 12 (UPI) -- Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen unsuccessfully targeted a Singaporean-owned container vessel with two anti-ship ballistic missiles as it transited the Red Sea, the U.S. military said.

The missiles were fired at the 63,000-ton Liberian-flagged Pinocchio on Monday morning but missed their target with no injuries or damage to the vessel, U.S. Central Command said in a news release.

CENTCOM later responded with six "self-defense" strikes against Houthi military assets, destroying an unmanned underwater drone and 18 anti-ship missiles in rebel-controlled areas of Yemen.

"It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region, CENTCOM said.

"These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels."

The Houthi military command claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement Tuesday carried by state-owned Iranian news agency Mehr.

Spokesman Yahya Saree said the group's naval missile strike had successfully hit "the United States ship Pinocchio" and that the attack had been carried out "in support of the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip."

The Houthis have stepped up their attacks against international shipping in the region and coalition naval forces trying to protect it in recent days targeting another Singaporean commercial vessel and U.S. Navy ships on Saturday.

Group said it fired "several suitable naval missiles" at the M/V Propel Fortune and launched 37 drones targeting several U.S. Navy destroyers.

U.S. Central Command, which said there were two missiles both of which failed to hit their mark, responded with defensive strikes against two truck-mounted anti-ship missiles in Houthi-controlled areas inside Yemen.

The Houthi's action claimed its first casualties Wednesday when three seamen were killed and four injured in a missile strike on the Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden.

The vessel was badly damaged in the attack, forcing the surviving crew to abandon ship, according to CENTCOM.

In claiming responsibility the Houthi leadership, as in Monday's attack on the Pinocchio, falsely claimed that they had targeted an American vessel.

The Houthis have launched at least 45 attacks, Pentagon figures show, on merchant shipping in the region since announcing in November that it considered all Israeli vessels and any ship bound for Israeli ports legitimate targets.

Large-scale airstrikes begun by the United States and Britain in mid-January to try to degrade the Houthi's strike capability in mid-January targets prompted the group to expand their mandate to American and British shipping and Western assets in the region.

Yemeni Armed Forces have pledged to continue the attacks until Israel ends its ground and aerial offensives in Gaza.