Yemen's Houthis claim attacks on Israel-linked vessel, U.S. warship in Red Sea

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea (C) makes a statement during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15, 2024. Yemen's armed Houthi forces said on Friday that they have launched fresh attacks targeting an Israeli ship and a U.S. warship in the Red Sea. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

SANAA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's armed Houthi forces said on Friday that they have launched fresh attacks targeting an Israeli ship and a U.S. warship in the Red Sea.

"We launched attacks against the Israel-linked ship, Pacific 01, with a number of missiles in the Red Sea, and launched drone attacks against a U.S. warship also in the waters," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a written statement broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

"The strikes accurately hit the targets," Sarea added.

He also claimed that his group has carried out three other attacks targeting three Israeli and U.S. vessels in the Indian Ocean, without specifying when the attacks occurred.

"We began to expand the scope of our operations against Israeli ships or those linked to Israel to include the Indian Ocean near the Cape of Good Hope," the spokesman said.

Last night, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi vowed to expand attacks to vessels transiting the Indian Ocean toward the Cape of Good Hope on the Atlantic coast of South Africa.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Central Command said on social media platform X that since Thursday morning, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists have fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Gulf of Aden and two additional ASBMs toward the Red Sea, adding, "There were no injuries or damage reported to U.S. or (U.S.-British) coalition ships."

The command noted that it "successfully destroyed nine anti-ship missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," stressing that "these actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels."

However, the Houthis have said the U.S.-British coalition's strikes hit empty locations and did not degrade the group's military capabilities.

The Houthis have controlled much of northern Yemen, including the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, since the civil war broke out in late 2014.

The Houthi forces have been attacking commercial ships since last November in what they said in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and have vowed to escalate and expand their strikes until Israel stops its offensive against the Palestinian enclave.

In response, the United States and Britain have conducted airstrikes and naval bombardments against Houthi targets in Yemen since mid-January to deter the group from interrupting international shipping lanes. 

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea makes a statement during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15, 2024. Yemen's armed Houthi forces said on Friday that they have launched fresh attacks targeting an Israeli ship and a U.S. warship in the Red Sea. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)