US strikes 10 Huthi drones, downs unmanned Iranian aircraft

American forces carried out strikes in Yemen against 10 attack drones and a ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

A U.S. warship also shot down an anti-ship missile fired by the Huthis and later downed three Iranian drones, Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

While the United States has recently launched strikes on the Huthis and other Tehran-supported groups in the region, both it and Iran have sought to avoid a direct confrontation, and the downing of three Iranian drones could heighten tensions.

Early on Thursday local time, U.S. forces targeted a "Huthi UAV ground control station and 10 Huthi one-way UAVs" that "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region," CENTCOM said in a statement, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicle.

CENTCOM earlier announced that the USS Carney had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Huthis, and then downed three Iranian drones less than an hour later.

It did not specify if the drones shot down by the naval destroyer were designed for attack or surveillance.

American forces also destroyed a Huthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday that CENTCOM said posed an imminent threat to "U.S. aircraft" — a deviation from past air raids that focused on reducing the rebels' ability to threaten international shipping.

It did not identify the type of aircraft that were threatened or the exact location of the strike, only saying that it took place in "Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen."

 Persistent attacks 

The Huthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza,...