Yemen's Houthi rebels launch drones and missiles at US warships near the Red Sea but do no damage

WASHINGTON (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted two U.S. Navy warships with multiple drones and missiles as they were traveling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but the attacks were not successful, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said the Iranian-backed Houthis launched at least eight drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship cruise missiles at the USS Stockdale and the USS Spruance, both Navy destroyers, on Monday. He said there was no damage and no one was injured.

The incoming fires “were successfully engaged,” Ryder said.

The strait is a narrow waterway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which typically sees $1 trillion in goods pass through it a year. The rebels have been targeting shipping through the strait for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israel's ground offensive in Lebanon.

In response, U.S. and partnered forces have launched multiple rounds of coordinated airstrikes against Houthi launch sites and weapons storage sites, and the U.S. organized an international coalition to help provide protection to commercial vessels as they transited — but it has not stopped the Houthi attacks.

The Houthis have insisted that the attacks will continue as long as the wars go on, and the assaults already have halved shipping through the region. Meanwhile, a U.N. panel of experts now alleges that the Houthis may be shaking down some shippers for about $180 million a month for safe passage through the area.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree in a prerecorded statement earlier Tuesday had claimed the rebels attacked two American destroyers in the Red Sea with ballistic missiles and drones.

There were also reports of a commercial ship being attacked. A vessel in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, reported the attack, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

No one was wounded on board in the blasts, and the ship was continuing on its journey, the UKMTO added.

It wasn't immediately clear if the UKMTO report was directly linked to the attacks on the U.S. destroyers, but similar incidents of rebel fire coming near other ships have happened before.

The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign, which also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis have shot down multiple American MQ-9 Reaper drones as well.

The last Houthi maritime attack came Oct. 28 and targeted the Liberian-flagged bulk tanker Motaro. Before that, an Oct. 10 attack targeted the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker Olympic Spirit.

It's unclear why the Houthis' attacks have dropped, though they have launched multiple missiles toward Israel as well. On Oct. 17, the U.S. military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by the rebels. U.S. airstrikes also have been targeting Houthi positions in recent days as well.

Meanwhile, a report by U.N. experts from October says “the Houthis allegedly collected illegal fees from a few shipping agencies to allow their ships to sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden without being attacked.” It put the money generated a month at around $180 million, though it stressed it hadn't been able to corroborate the information provided by sources to the panel.

The Houthis haven't directly responded to the allegation. However, the report did include two threatening emails the Houthis sent to shippers, with one of those vessels later coming under attack by the rebels.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.