SANAA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. forces have intercepted a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi group toward a U.S. commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

A coalition vessel successfully engaged one anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen over the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Thursday, referring to Houthis' targeting on Wednesday at the MV Yorktown, a U.S.-flagged, owned, and operated vessel with 18 U.S. and four Greek crew members.

No injuries or damage have been reported so far.

In a separate incident on Wednesday, the U.S. Central Command "successfully engaged and destroyed four airborne unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," it added.

Late Wednesday night, the Houthis claimed they launched three attacks against a U.S. cargo vessel and a U.S. warship in the Gulf of Aden, as well as an Israeli vessel in the Indian Ocean.

They said the attacks were accurate.

The Houthis have been controlling much of northern Yemen since the Yemeni civil war erupted in late 2014.

After the Israel-Hamas war broke out last October, the Houthi group declared its support for Palestinians and began attacking ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea in November last year.

In response, the coalition of the U.S.-British naval forces hit back at the Houthi group's military structures in northern Yemen, launching dozens of airstrikes to deter the group. Enditem

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