Sanaa, Feb 1 (IANS): Yemen's Houthi group has said that they launched a missile attack on a US commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, claiming a "direct hit".

The group added on Wednesday that they targeted the vessel KOI, a container ship that was heading to Israeli ports, "in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and response to the US-British aggression against Yemen," according to a statement released by Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea.

Sarea said the attack was carried out with "several suitable naval missiles that directly hit the target".

He added the attack came hours after the group fired missiles at a US destroyer, the USS Gravely, in the Red Sea, Xinhua news agency reported.

He noted the Houthis would confront "any US-British escalation with escalation" and would not hesitate to launch more attacks in retaliation for any "foolishness" against Yemen.

He also added that all US and British ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea were "legitimate targets" for the group as long as the US-British "aggression" continued.

There was no immediate comment from the US side on the claims.

Earlier on Wednesday, the US Central Command said in a statement that US forces launched a strike on a Houthi missile launch site in northern Yemen and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was ready to launch.

It added that US forces identified the missile in Houthi-held areas of Yemen and determined it posed an imminent threat to US aircraft.

The Houthis confirmed that the US strike hit a site in the northern part of Saada city, according to a statement broadcast by al-Masirah TV.