Houthi missile, drone assault on U.S. Navy ships failed, official says

LONDON — The Houthis’ retaliatory missile and drone assault on U.S. Navy ships within the Crimson Sea didn’t come near hitting any American vessels, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC Information, after President Donald Trump’s administration launched a brand new sequence of airstrikes concentrating on the Yemeni group.

The Houthis claimed on Sunday to have fired 18 ballistic missiles and a drone at the united statesHarry S. Truman plane provider group in two separate assaults over the earlier 24 hours. The strike, the group stated, “succeeded in thwarting a hostile assault the enemy was making ready to launch towards our nation.”

A U.S. official informed ABC Information that the Houthis fired 11 drones and one ballistic missile, none of which got here near hitting any U.S. vessels.

All drones have been downed by fighters — 10 shot down by Air Pressure planes and one by Navy planes — whereas the ballistic missile was not intercepted because it fell far wanting the vessels, the official stated.

U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be like on as navy strikes are launched towards Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis over the group’s assaults towards Crimson Sea transport, at an unspecified location on this handout picture launched March 15, 2025.

White Home by way of Reuters

The Houthi retaliation got here after a wave of U.S. airstrikes in Yemen starting on Saturday, which Trump described as “decisive and highly effective navy motion” towards the Iranian-backed group. The Houthis have been concentrating on Western-linked transport and launching munitions into Israel for the reason that fall of 2022, in protest of Israel’s conflict towards Hamas within the Gaza Strip.

“They’ve waged an unrelenting marketing campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism towards American, and different, ships, plane and drones,” Trump posted on his social media platform, Reality Social, on March 15. “We’ll use overwhelming deadly drive till we have now achieved our goal.”

A U.S. official confirmed to ABC Information on Sunday that U.S. air and naval property hit dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen, together with missiles, radars and drone and air protection techniques. The official characterised the assaults as a gap salvo towards the Houthis that sends a robust message to Iran.

The Yemeni Well being Ministry stated the strikes killed 53 folks and injured 98 extra.

Nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz informed ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that the strikes represented “an amazing response that really focused a number of Houthi leaders and took them out. And the distinction right here is, one, going after the Houthi management, and two, holding Iran accountable.”

Detailing their newest assault on U.S. Navy vessels, the Houthis stated in a Sunday assertion that they may “proceed to ban the passage of Israeli ships by means of the zone of operations till the blockade on the Gaza Strip is lifted.”