US warships came under sustained missile and drone attack from Houthi fighters as they sailed off the coast of Yemen, the Pentagon has confirmed, with the armed group claiming it attacked the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two US destroyers.
Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said that the United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) forces “successfully repelled multiple Iranian-backed Houthi attacks during a transit of the Bab al-Mandeb strait”, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Ryder told reporters at a news conference that two US-guided missile destroyers – the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance – were attacked by at least eight one-way attack drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles, and three anti-ship cruise missiles.
All the Houthi drones and missiles “were successfully engaged and defeated”, and neither of the US Navy ships was damaged or personnel hurt, he said.
Ryder added that he was not aware of any attacks against the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Earlier on Tuesday, Houthi fighters announced that they had carried out two “specific military operations” against the US Navy in an assault lasting eight hours.
“The first operation targeted the American aircraft carrier (Abraham) located in the Arabian Sea with several cruise missiles and drones,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement.
The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have been carrying out attacks on Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, in what it says is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians.
