CAIRO, March 12 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group fired missiles at a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea but did not hit the vessel, the U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday.

Two anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired at the Pinocchio from Yemeni territory, CENTCOM said, resulting in no damage or injuries.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea earlier on Tuesday said the group had targeted and hit the ship, which he described as "American".

The Pinocchio is a Liberian-flagged container ship owned by Singapore-registered company OM-MAR 5 INC, according to shipping databases operated by Equasis and the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Sarea said the Houthi group would escalate their military operations during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in solidarity with Palestinians in response to the war in Gaza.

Months of Houthi Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.

The United States and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and redesignated the militia as a terrorist group.

Airstrikes attributed to a U.S.-British coalition hit port cities and small towns in western Yemen on Monday, killing at least 11 people and injuring 14, a spokesperson for Yemen's internationally recognised government told Reuters.

CENTCOM said it conducted six self-defence strikes on Monday in Houthi controlled areas of Yemen. The strikes destroyed an unmanned underwater vessel and 18 anti-ship missiles - which CENTCOM said presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region.

Photo from US Navy