Yemeni Armed Forces Spox: U.S. Navy warship Targeted in Gulf of Aden

The spokesperson of the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced in a statement earlier this morning that Yemen targeted US Navy warship Lewis B Puller sailing through the Gulf of Aden yesterday evening. 

Saree specified that the warship was involved in providing logistical support for the US forces waging aggression against Yemen, among other missions. 

“The operation is part of the military measures taken by the Yemeni Armed Forces in defense of the Yemeni people and as part of the commitment to support the oppressed Palestinian people,” Saree added.

Concluding his statement, Saree reaffirmed the YAF’s commitment to enforce a blockade on Israeli navigation in the Red Sea until a ceasefire is achieved in Gaza and the siege enforced on the people of Gaza is lifted. 

US, UK ships are a ‘legitimate target’: Al-Bukhaiti 

Two days ago, Mohammad al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Ansar Allah movement’s political bureau, affirmed to Al Mayadeen that the presence of American and British forces on Yemeni soil “will provoke the entire Yemeni population,” adding that it will unify the people against the aggression.

He reiterated that military operations against the Israeli occupation “will continue until the aggression against the Gaza Strip stops,” stressing that the United States of America, Britain, and “Israel” must stop the aggression for the Yemenis to stop targeting their ships.  

Three days ago, the Yemeni Armed Forces’ (YAF) Navy struck a British oil tanker, MARLIN LUANDA, in the Gulf of Aden, setting it ablaze, the spokesperson for the YAF, Brigadier General Yahya Saraee, said in a televised announcement.

Al-Bukhaiti emphasized that American and British warships, along with commercial ships, are now considered “legitimate targets for Yemen” following the aggression against the country.

The strike on MARLIN LUANDA marked the first time a UK ship had come under attack by the Yemeni forces.

British warships lack ‘necessary capabilities’ to hit Yemenis: Reports 

Meanwhile, according to The Telegraph, the British naval ships dispatched to the Red Sea are not armed with missiles capable of attacking land targets in Yemen, a British defense source revealed.

At the end of November, the British government announced that it dispatched the Royal Navy ship HMS Diamond under the pretext of “reinforcing regional security” in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

According to the source, the Diamond destroyer stationed in the Red Sea did not strike the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF)’ s land targets because it lacked the necessary capabilities. 

The Telegraph detailed that the British navy’s only ground attack weapons were artillery cannons situated at the front of each warship. While US ships employ Tomahawk cruise missiles, the UK’s sole choices are supposedly planes stationed 1,500 miles distant or submarines.

Former UK Deputy Defense Minister Mark Francois was quoted saying that the British navy’s lack of firepower was referenced in a defense committee report years ago, and capable missiles are still not operational.