DUBAI, January 25. /TASS/. Houthi rebels from Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement announced a military operation against US warships in the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the movement’s military spokesman Yahya Saria said on Telegram.

"Today [on Wednesday], a clash with several destroyers and US warships, who tried to protect two US commercial vessels, occurred in the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The result was a direct hit of a US warship. The two US commercial vessels were forced to retreat and return," he said.

According to the statement, the clash "lasted more than two hours." The Houthis used "several ballistic missiles," and some of them "reached their targets" despite US attempts to intercept them.