The Pentagon was preparing for possible new strikes in Yemen on Thursday, October 13 after U.S. missiles hit Huthi rebel targets, but officials stressed America wants to avoid getting embroiled in yet another war, AFP reports.

The U.S. Navy earlier launched five Tomahawk cruise missiles at three mobile radar sites in Huthi-controlled territory on Yemen's Red Sea coast, after the Iran-backed rebels blasted rockets at the USS Mason destroyer twice in four days.

The military insists these moves are taken out of self-defense.

Though the United States is providing logistical support to a Saudi-led coalition battling the rebels, Thursday's bombing marked the first time Washington has taken direct action against the Huthis.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said this was not a prelude to a new campaign in the region, where America is to varying degrees waging wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.

"We don't seek a wider role in the conflict," Cook said. "This is about protecting our people, period."

The White House also stressed the United States was not stepping up its military role, AFP says.

"This is not any engagement in the sectarian situation on the ground in Yemen," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.

The Huthi missiles were believed to have been a type of C-802 anti-ship weapon with "explosively formed penetrator warheads," a senior defense official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Huthis have denied conducting the attacks.