Yemen’s Huthis attacked US warships with drones, missiles

DUBAI (AFP): Yemen’s Huthi rebels targeted two US destroyers with drones and missiles as they transited the Bab al-Mandab Strait, but the warships defeated the attacks, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

The Huthis began striking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, part of the region-wide fallout from Israel’s devastating war in Gaza, which militant groups in multiple countries have cited as justification for attacks.

The US warships “were attacked by at least eight one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship cruise missiles, which were successfully engaged and defeated,” Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists.

“The vessels were not damaged, no personnel were hurt,” Ryder said of the Monday attacks.

A claim from the Huthis that they also attacked the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is not accurate, he said.

“Based on the information I have, it was not attacked, contrary to some of the allegations… by the Huthis,” Ryder said, declining to specify the carrier’s location.

The Yemeni rebels say their attacks — a significant international security challenge that threatens a major shipping lane — are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Anger over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the small coastal territory, which began after an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, has stoked violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

The United States and other countries have deployed military vessels to help shield shipping from the Huthi strikes, but attacks directly targeting American warships are relatively rare.

Washington’s forces have also carried out frequent air strikes on the Huthis in a bid to degrade their ability to target shipping and have sought to seize weapons before they reach the rebels, but their attacks have persisted.

Ryder said Tuesday that US forces carried out multiple air strikes over the weekend against Huthi weapons storage facilities.

“These facilities housed a variety of advanced conventional weapons used by the Iran-backed Huthis to target US and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters,” he said, noting that both US Air Force and Navy assets were involved.

US forces also targeted Iran-backed groups in Syria on Monday in response to drone and rocket attacks on American troops in that country the previous day.

The attacks did not result in any American casualties, according to Ryder, who said he did not have information to provide on whether the subsequent US strikes killed or wounded militants.