Houthis Unleash Barrage at U.S. Warships After Three Week Lull

U.S. officials are confirming that warships in the Red Sea were targeted with possibly the largest barrage since the conflict began with the Houthis in Yemen nearly 10 months ago. The militants had been promising large-scale surprises coordinated to their religious calendar.

Yesterday, in a taped message the leader of the rebels, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, said the group was launching the fifth phase of its escalation in support of Gaza including new missiles that were being aimed at Israel. Reports from Israel indicated air raid sirens sounding, but it was unclear if it was attacks from the Houthi or Hezbollah or coming from elsewhere. Al-Houthi claimed in the last week they have fired 39 ballistic missiles.

“We did see a complex attack launch from the Houthis that ranged from cruise missiles and UAVs,” said Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh during today’s briefing in response to reporters’ questions. She emphasized, “I can confirm that no U.S. ships were damaged or hit. There were no injuries to U.S. personnel.”

The comments came in response to claims by the Houthi today that they unleashed 23 projectiles, including ballistic, cruise missiles, and drones. Spokesperson Yahya Saree with his usual bravado proclaimed the operation “made direct hits.”

The U.S. however said that its forces, “either engaged and shot down,” the attack or that some of the launches failed. 

The Houthi said they had targeted three U.S. warships which media reports tonight are identifying as the guided missile destroyers USS Spruance and USS Stockdale and the littoral combat ship USS Indianapolis. They were reported to have been north of the Bab el-Mandeb at the time.

The Pentagon however did not respond to questions if the U.S. warships were the targets. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether they’re being shot in the vicinity of a U.S. ship or targeting another vessel,” responded Singh. “We always take measures for our self-defense.”

The overnight attack came after 24 days since the last report of a Houthi attack on a vessel in the region. The militants have been mostly quiet or claiming attacks directed at Israel. U.S. Central Command also reported far fewer launches or intercepts. They reported one intercept on September 20 and another on September 24. The launches had been more consistent up till about September 15.