Armed forces from Yemen's Ansarallah movement have launched two major military operations targeting US naval assets, including aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The actions were reportedly taken in retaliation for American and British aggression against Yemen, and in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people that are under Israeli brutal attacks, the spokesman said in a post on X.

Saree reported that the first operation focused on the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, deploying a combination of cruise missiles and drones. He claimed that the attack was successful, averting planned US offensives against Yemen.

The second operation, targeting two US destroyers in the Red Sea, also utilized ballistic missiles and drones, Saree said, and achieved its objectives within an eight-hour timeframe.

The spokesperson attributed the escalating military tension in the Red Sea to American and British actions, saying these activities have transformed the region into a zone of heightened conflict with potential repercussions for maritime navigation.

According to the statement, Yemeni forces view these strikes as a legitimate form of self-defense against foreign threats in the Red and Arabian Seas. Saree emphasized that Yemen’s operations would continue until Israel's "aggression on Gaza stops, the siege is lifted, and attacks against Lebanon cease.”

Yemen’s recent actions in the Red Sea reportedly began in November 2023, focusing on vessels linked to Israel in response to its campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Saree stated that these actions have significantly disrupted shipping routes to Israel’s Eilat port, imposing substantial economic costs on the country.

In addition to targeting Israeli-affiliated vessels, Yemeni forces have allegedly been targeting American and British ships, which are involved in aerial strikes against Yemen in support of Israel.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon confirmed Yemen's Ansarallah forces targeted two US destroyers with drones and missiles. It said the warships were attacked while they were transiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait but the warships “defeated” the attacks, Al Jazeera reported.

The ships “were attacked by at least eight one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems, five antiship ballistic missiles and three antiship cruise missiles, which were successfully engaged and defeated”, Pentagon spokesperson Major-General Pat Ryder told journalists.

“The vessels were not damaged, no personnel were hurt.”