The missile was aimed at the U.S. Navy’s USS Laboon. There were no injuries or damage reported in the latest incident, according to CENTCOM, which released the news in a statement posted on the social media platform X. This is the first time the Americans have announced an attack by the Houthis against them since the U.S. and its allies began attacking Houthi targets in Yemen that have drawn threats of a "strong" response from the Iranian-backed militia.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported on Monday morning that two marines from the elite Navy SEALS - who have been missing since Thursday – were participating in an operation to locate a shipment of Iranian weapons for the Houthis in the Red Sea. According to the report, the two tried to board a ship in the Gulf of Aden near the coast of Somalia, but the sea was rough and one of them fell from a ladder. The other jumped into the water to help him, and is also missing. It is not clear if other military personnel successfully boarded the ship, and if Iranian-made weapons were found on it.
Sunday night's attempt to attack the U.S. warship comes after a series of U.S. and British attacks as part of a wider international coalition against Houthi sites in Yemen. Overnight between Thursday and Friday the United States and Great Britain attacked about 30 Houthi targets in Yemen, and on Saturday evening another U.S. attack was reported against the naval military base that the Houthis control in Al-Hudaydah. Despite these attacks, the New York Times reported that the Houthis are believed to have maintained about 75% of their military capabilities when it comes to launching missiles and UAVs.
First wave of US and UK attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen
Just a few hours after the coalition's first wave of attacks, which was intended to "damage the Houthis' abilities to continue their illegal attacks on vessels and shipping lanes in the Red Sea," the Houthis threatened to respond, and their spokesman Yahya Saree said: "The American enemy bears full responsibility for the aggression against our people, and it will not pass without a punishment." The Houthis also stated that the Americans and the British have become "legitimate targets" for them.
On Saturday, a senior Houthi also told the Qatari Al-Jazeera network that "we will not allow the American invasion of our country and will respond soon. The base that the Americans attacked is out of service. The American presence in the area is illegal, our attacks against American military assets are legitimate."
The threats of the Houthis are not limited only against the US and Britain - but are also directed toward Israel. On Saturday, the Houthi army released new photos from an exercise that took place on Thursday, called " Ready for the Campaign of the Promised Conquest and Holy Jihad ." The Houthis, who are considered to be acting with guidance and assistance from Iran, prepared a model of an Israeli settlement and "occupied" it.
The buildings used for the exercise were marked with the Star of David and in one of them, the Houthis even hung a picture of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the drill that included the use of drones, the U.S. and Israeli flags were burned. In a statement regarding the exercise, the Houthis said that it included diverse forces from the Air Force, engineering corps, artillery, armored corps, infantry and more.
"The units carried out the tasks assigned to them, with control and abilities that reflected the planning and coordination between them, until they managed to take control of an enemy settlement and capture the enemy soldiers, before blowing it up," the Houthis' statement claimed.
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