By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-11-20

ADEN -- The Houthis' recent failed attack on US warships in Bab al-Mandeb strait is a sign of their underlying fragility as well as their continued pursuit of the agenda of the Iranian regime at the expense of their own people, experts said.

The Iran-backed group launched a multiple-missile attack on two US warships as they crossed through Bab al-Mandeb strait on November 11, the Pentagon said.

The US vessels were able to shoot down the projectiles and did not sustain "any damage and no one was injured," Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said.

In a statement on X, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group had hit the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with a number of cruise missiles.

Ryder said he was "not aware of any attacks" on the Abraham Lincoln.

The Houthis posted a video online that appeared to show damage to the ship, which was quickly denounced as misleading by media sources.

NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and linked the footage to a video uploaded by the US Navy on July 14, 2020, that showed a fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard at the San Diego Naval Base during routine maintenance.

"The Houthis previously claimed they had attacked the [USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier], and now they are announcing they attacked another aircraft carrier," political analyst Mahmoud al-Taher told Al-Fassel.

He noted that the US warships crossed Bab al-Mandeb, and were not damaged.

This indicates the Houthis are not as capable of attacking military targets as they claim to be, he said, pointing out that they have only succeed in attacking commercial ships that cannot defend themselves or repel these attacks.

Threats to commercial ships

The Houthis have threatened to hit vessels of German shipping firms passing near the Red Sea or using Israeli ports, the German shipowners' association VDR said November 18.

VDR executive Irina Haesler said emailed warnings to the German industry body and cargo carriers in recent months were "attempts at intimidation," AFP reported.

On the night of November 17, a suspected attack by the Houthis targeted a commercial ship in the Red Sea, regional media reported.

The missile landed in the water near the vessel, causing no damage.

"The Houthis announce they are targeting ships and boast about their ability to manufacture some weapons," economist Abdul Aziz Thabet told Al-Fassel.

They do this when "they should be working to alleviate the economic and living suffering experienced by the population in the areas under their control," he said.

Yemen is experiencing "a real humanitarian tragedy," he added. "This doubles their responsibility to stand with the Yemeni people and leave adventures that only bring ruin and destruction to the Yemeni people."