US strikes Houthi target in Yemen, after attack on British oil tanker

Anti-ship missile was aimed into the Red Sea and ready to launch, says US military

US forces struck an antiship missile in Houthi-held Yemen that they said was ready to fire on Jan 27, hours after the Iran-backed rebels caused a fire on a British tanker in the Gulf of Aden with a similar munition.

American and British forces have launched joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis' ability to target vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route - attacks the rebels say are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with Hamas.

Washington has also carried out a series of unilateral air raids, but the Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks.

The US military's Central Command, Centcom, said it had carried out another strike early on Jan 27 on a Houthi "anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea and which was prepared to launch".

"Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defence," it said on social media platform X.

The Houthis' Al-Masirah television said the United States and Britain launched two air strikes on the port of Ras Issa in Yemen's Hodeida province, which hosts the country's main oil export terminal.

There was no immediate confirmation from Washington or London, and the Houthis did not provide details on the attack or the extent of the damage.