The US military says two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of a US destroyer in the Gulf of Aden.

The US Central Command said on Sunday that the USS Mason and partner nation naval vessels responded to a distress call from a commercial shipping vessel which had been boarded by five armed individuals.

The command said the Mason and other vessels demanded the attackers release the commercial ship. It said that the Mason detained the individuals after they tried to escape on a small boat.

The command said the two ballistic missiles were fired hours later from areas controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and landed about 18 kilometers from the US destroyer and the commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden.

Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said on Monday that initial indications are that the five people detained are Somalis. He added it is not clear what the missiles were targeting, and that the Pentagon is assessing the ties between the Houthis and the five individuals.

Since the start of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the US military has been on high alert against the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran.