Houthis launch attacks on US warships off Yemen’s coast

US warships came under sustained missile and drone attack from Houthi fighters as they sailed off the coast of Yemen, the Pentagon has confirmed.

The armed group claimed it attacked the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two US destroyers.

Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday 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 antiship ballistic missiles and three antiship cruise missiles.

All the Houthi drones and missiles “were successfully engaged and defeated”, and neither of the US Navy ships were 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.

(With inputs from Al Jazeera)