The United States shot down four drones headed towards a US destroyer in the southern Red Sea and launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, US Central Command (Centcom) said.

“These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since Oct 17,” Centcom said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The US Naval Forces Central Command responded to distress calls from two ships under attack, Cetcom said.

A Norwegian-flagged, -owned and -operated chemical/oil tanker reported a near miss of a Houthi drone attack, and a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker reported being hit by a one-way attack, the post said.

Two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were also “fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen”, it said. “No ships reported being impacted by the ballistic missiles.”