Sanaa, Sep 1 (IANS): The US Central Command said in a statement early Sunday that its forces had destroyed a drone and an unmanned boat in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

"In the past 24 hours, US Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed one Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and one uncrewed surface vessel (USV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," it said in a statement on social media platform X.

"It was determined these systems presented a clear and imminent threat to US and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region," it added.

USCENTCOM rarely discloses the exact targeted places in the Houthi-controlled areas, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, residents said on social media platforms that they heard two explosions on Saturday in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

The USCENTCOM statement came a few hours after the Houthi group claimed responsibility for the Friday attack that targeted a vessel named GROTON in the Gulf of Aden.

Since November 2023, the Houthi group has been launching anti-ship missiles and drone attacks targeting what the group said were "Israeli-linked" ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of cargo ships have since been damaged.

In response, the US-British naval coalition stationed in the waters has since January conducted regular air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets in northern Yemen to deter the group.

USCENTCOM has been involved in the defence against the Iranian attack in early April to the killing of Hurras al-Din senior leader Abu-Abd al-Rahman al-Makki in the last week of August.

The Iranian-backed terrorist organisation detonated a drone in Tel Aviv, which killed one person in July.

In response, an Israeli operation destroyed the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah.

Since the beginning of the war, air defence systems have destroyed hundreds of these drones of different varieties.