Yemen’s Houthis target four vessels in Gulf of Aden, spokesman says

CAIRO (Reuters) -Yemen’s Houthis said on Wednesday they targeted four vessels, including what they described as a U.S. warship, with drones and naval missiles in the Gulf of Aden, part of their stated campaign of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The Iran-aligned group attacked “MSC Darwin ship, MSC GINA, MV Yorktown” along with the U.S. destroyer, the group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech.

The U.S. military said on Tuesday that it had destroyed an inbound anti-ship ballistic missile over the Gulf of Aden that was launched by Houthis and likely targeting the MV Yorktown.

There were no injuries or damage reported to U.S., coalition or commercial ships in the incident, the U.S. Central Command added.

Months of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.

The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in response to the attacks on shipping.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Hatem Maher; editing by Mark Heinrich and Deepa Babington)