The US Central Command (Centcom) accused the Houthis yesterday of launching two ballistic missiles towards its destroyer "USS Mason" in the Gulf of Aden, following the US Navy's response to a distress call from the merchant ship "Central Park", which was seized by unknown gunmen.

The command announced that the two missiles were launched from areas controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen, and that they “landed in the Gulf of Aden, about ten nautical miles from the two ships.”

American officials linked this incident to the attacks carried out by the Houthis against Israel and US interests in the region, in light of regional fears about the possibility of expanding the scope of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The US Central Command said in a statement that the commercial tanker was carrying a shipment of phosphoric acid when its crew requested assistance after “being attacked by an unknown party.” The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason and its accompanying ships from the anti-piracy task force operating in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia responded to the call for help and “requested the ship be released.” She added that with the arrival of the US Navy, “five armed men got off the ship and tried to escape via their small boat,” explaining that the US destroyer “pursued the attackers, which led to their eventual surrender.” The US Navy did not identify the attackers.