UKMTO Reports Missile Strike On Vessel In Red Sea

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reportedon X that a vessel, "has been hit from above by a missile," in the Red Sea, southeast of Aden.

• The notification comes following an incident yesterday when a US fighter jet shot down an anti-ship cruise missile reportedly fired at an American navy destroyer in the Red Sea by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels.
• The Associated Press reports: "[That] attack marks the first U.S.-acknowledged fire by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes Friday on the rebels…”
• Since late Thursday, Jan 11, The US and UK militaries have carried out two strike operations on strategic targets within Yemen. The US says it executed strikes on, "over 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations," adding that strikes on radar systems, drone launch sites, missile storage and launch facilities and Houthi command and control nodes, were designed to degrade the Houthis capabilities.
• US President Joe Biden, and high-ranking Biden administration officials, have indicated that they are likely to authorise additional strikes if the Houthis continue to disrupt commercial shipping.
• Biden said on Friday that he, “will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”