According to a spokesperson for the Houthis, at least one missile fired from Yemen on Wednesday hit an American warship and caused two US-owned commercial vessels to retreat.
The US Central Command, however, stated that they had successfully intercepted all incoming missiles. The Houthis, a Shia group controlling the western part of Yemen, have been targeting vessels associated with Israel since late October in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Following recent bombings by British and American forces in Yemen, the Houthis extended their ban on US and UK merchant ships.
The clash between American destroyers, warships, and the Houthi group occurred in the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab, while the American ships were protecting two commercial vessels.
The Houthi spokesperson, Yahya Saree, claimed that a direct hit on an American warship forced the merchant ships to retreat, and some of their ballistic missiles reached their targets despite attempts to intercept them.
CENTCOM, responsible for US forces in the area, provided a different account, stating that three anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists towards the US-flagged container ship M/V Maersk Detroit.
One missile hit the sea, while the USS Gravely successfully shot down the other two missiles. No injuries or damage to the ship were reported. The impact of the attack on the Maersk Detroit’s course remains unclear, but its official destination is Namibia on the southwest coast of Africa.
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