<span style="color: #222222;">US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired two missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Both missiles were launched yesterday towards MV Star Iris, a Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel transiting the Red Sea carrying corn from Brazil.</span> <br />''<br />''The Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. Moreover, it connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and, by extension, the Indian Ocean. Reportedly, no one was injured. However, the ship suffered minor damage. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been targeting these ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November as Israel carried out a ground offensive against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip. <br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Earlier last week, the US carried out self-defense strikes against multiple Houthi missiles that presented an "imminent threat" to the US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. The CENTCOM said that it conducted strikes against two mobile unmanned surface vessels (USV), four mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, and one mobile land attack cruise missile (LACM). </span><br />