Houthis Claim More Ship Attacks, Targetting US Warship and Merchant Vessel

Yemen's Houthis said on Wednesday that they had targeted a U.S. warship and a vessel called "Destiny" in the Red Sea, part of an ongoing campaign of attacks that the Iran-backed group says is designed to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

In a televised speech, the Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Sarea said they had targeted an American destroyer called "Maysun" in the Red Sea with a number of "appropriate naval missiles".

Houthis targeted the vessel Destiny because it had been en route for the Israeli port of Eilat on April 20, Sarea added.

Sarea did not specify the dates when the two ships were targeted. Reuters could not independently verify the Houthis' claim of having hit the two vessels.

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 destabilise the wider Middle East.

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

(Reuters - Reporting by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Gareth Jones)