The United States military confirmed on Tuesday that Houthi fighters launched a significant assault on US warships, including two destroyers, as they navigated the Bab al-Mandeb strait off the Yemeni coast.
The incident involved a combination of one-way attack drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles aimed at the US Navy vessels, Al Jazeera reported quoting the Pentagon.
The US Navy ships, the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance, were targeted during their transit through the strait that links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, an area frequently used by global shipping and increasingly impacted by Houthi attacks.
Despite the intensity of the assault, US forces are claimed to have neutralized all incoming threats without suffering damage to their ships or harm to their personnel.
The Houthis, however, claimed their operation included an attack on the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, which was reportedly stationed in the Arabian Sea at the time, although the Pentagon noted no confirmed assault on the carrier itself.
The recent strikes mark the latest in a series of escalating attacks by the Houthis in the region. Since November 2023, the Yemeni armed group has launched numerous missile and drone assaults on vessels linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, purportedly as part of its declared solidarity campaign with Palestinians.
While some of these operations appear to target Israel-affiliated vessels, the Houthis have also launched attacks on commercial ships with no overt connection to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, exacerbating risks for international shipping.
According to regional sources, the Houthis have targeted more than 90 vessels in the past year, resulting in the deaths of four sailors and the sinking of two ships. In a notable incident, the British-owned and Japanese-operated Galaxy Leader was hijacked by Houthi forces last November, with its crew remaining in Houthi custody. The armed group has reportedly made the release of these detainees contingent on Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
In response to the Houthis' disruptive actions, US and UK forces have conducted air strikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. On Sunday, US and UK fighter jets targeted locations in Sanaa and Amran, where advanced weapons storage facilities were believed to be situated.
This operation follows recent US strikes in which B-2 bombers attacked five underground storage sites, marking a rare deployment of strategic bombers in Yemen.