Houthis say they attacked US destroyer, three support vessels in Arabian Sea

The Houthis from Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement have delivered missile and drone strikes on a US destroyer and three support ships in the Arabian Sea, the movement’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said, reported from TASS.

The Houthi forces "hit an American destroyer and three support vessels of the American army," he said. "The operation was conducted with the use of 16 ballistic cruise missiles and drones in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden."

According to Sarea, coming under the attack were the Stena Impeccable tanker, the Maersk Saratoga container vessel, and the Liberty Grace bulk carrier. He warned that the Houthis will continue attacks on ships linked with the United States and Israel until Israel ends its operation against the Gaza Strip.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Coordination Center (UKMTO) said earlier in the day that an attack on a ship had been reported some 80 nautical miles south of the city of Aden in Yemen. No further details were given.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since mid-November, dozens of civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthi in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

In response to Ansar Allah's actions, the US authorities announced the creation of an international coalition and preparations for an operation codenamed Prosperity Guardian, expected to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. Since then, the United States and the United Kingdom have been regularly delivering strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

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