The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower conducts flight operations in response to increased Iranian-backed Houthi malign behavior in the Red Sea, Feb. 3, 2024. (Jorge LeBaron/U.S. Navy)

U.S. maritime forces on Saturday conducted five self-defense strikes targeting Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, U.S. Central Command announced Sunday.

CENTCOM successfully conducted strikes against three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, one unmanned underwater vessel (UUV) and one unmanned surface vessel (USV). It was the first observed Houthi employment of a UUV since attacks began in Oct. 23, according to CENTCOM.

CENTCOM determined the targets presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.

It is the latest in a continuing series of interventions by the U.S. military against Houthi rebels as tensions have increased in the Middle East since the war began between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7.

On Friday, CENTCOM successfully conducted two self-defense strikes against one mobile anti-ship cruise missile and one mobile unmanned surface vessel (USV) in Yemen.

On Thursday, CENTCOM forces successfully conducted two self-defense strikes against three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea.

On Wednesday, U.S. forces destroyed seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, three aerial drones and one explosive surface drone prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled territory. The four separate strikes conducted over a time span of about 6½ hours were in defense of ships in the Red Sea, the command said.

CENTCOM also announced last week that a team from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Clarence Sutphin Jr. discovered more than 200 packages of medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, and communication and network equipment after boarding a ship in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 28 headed to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

Naval forces in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility routinely conduct operations to intercept weapons being sent to the Iranian-backed Houthis.

As of Saturday, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser USS Philippine Sea, the destroyers USS Mason and Gravely, and additional U.S. Navy assets in the region including the destroyers USS Laboon and USS Carney have conducted more than 95 intercepts of drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles and made more than 249 self-defense strikes on more than 50 Houthi targets.

Contributing: The Associated Press