US NAVY: Yemen's Houthi militia threat international navigation

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched at least one missile into the busy waters of Red Sea over the weekend, the US Navy said Monday, raising the risks of their fire striking one of the many commercial vessels using a waterway crucial to global shipping.

"Although maritime traffic was not impacted in this instance, these actions are destabilizing and present a danger to all vessels transiting a critical international waterway," said US navy commander.

Since seizing Yemen's capital in September 2014, the Houthis have launched missiles, deployed bomb-laden drone boats and released mines into the Red Sea. The missile fire took place Saturday in the Red Sea, the Navy said.

Houthi missile fire in the Red Sea has come near an American warship before. In October 2016, the US Navy said the USS Mason came under fire from two missiles launched out of Yemen.

More recently in January, the Houthis seized the Emirati-flagged ship Rwabee in the Red Sea off Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition asserted the ship carried medical equipment from a dismantled Saudi field hospital.

The Red Sea connects into the Suez Canal, which sends cargo and energy shipments from the wider Mideast onto Europe. Since seizing Yemen's capital in September 2014, the Houthis have launched missiles, deployed bomb-laden drone boats and released mines into the Red Sea.

The coalition and its allies, including the US, regularly accuse Iran of providing military support to the Houthis, claims that Tehran denies.