Yemen’s Houthis conducted six operations targeting a US aircraft carrier, a US destroyer, and three vessels in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, according to the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Saturday.
The Iranian-backed Houthi militia, which controls the most populous parts of Yemen, has been attacking ships off its coast for months, claiming to act in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in Gaza.
The group “targeted the American aircraft carrier, the Eisenhower, north of the Red Sea, with a number of missiles and drones,” Saree said, adding that it was “the second targeting operation against the carrier during the past 24 hours.”
Saree also mentioned that other operations targeted a US destroyer and the ABLIANI ship in the Red Sea, along with “the MAINA ship that has been targeted twice in the Red Sea and in the Arabian Sea as well.” Additionally, “the ship ALORAIQ has been targeted in the Indian Ocean,” he added.
The Houthi fighters’ drone and missile strikes have been aimed at the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden. This has forced shippers since November to reroute cargo on longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
