Houthis Say They Attack Three Ships, Two US Destroyers

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said on Monday they launched attacks on three ships in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, and two U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea.

The group, which describes its attacks as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza, said the ships were the Larego Desert and the MSC Mechela in the Indian Ocean, and the Minerva Lisa in the Red Sea. It did not name the destroyers.

There was no immediate confirmation from shipping companies or the U.S. military of any attacks in those areas.

The Houthis' military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, did not specify when the attacks took place, but said in a televised speech the group had used missiles against the ships and drones against the U.S. destroyers.

The group has launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea region since November, later expanding to the Indian Ocean. It has said it will attack any ships sailing towards Israeli ports, even in the Mediterranean Sea.

Its attacks have forced shippers to re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and stoked fears of the Israel-Hamas war spreading and destabilising the Middle East.

The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in retaliation for their attacks on vessels.

(Reuters - Reporting by Nayera Abdallah in Dubai, Adam Makaryin Cairo, and Mohammed Ghobari in Aden; Editing by William Maclean and Andrew Heavens)