Houthi rebels from Yemen attacking ships passing through the Suez Canal in the Red Sea area since November 2023 claimed to have attacked a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier again after about three weeks. However, U.S. military officials have denied the rebels’ claims.
According to CNBC, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced the attack on the 22nd through Yemen’s Al-Masirah, which they operate.
Yahya Saree, a spokesman for the rebels, announced, “Our army’s missile forces launched military operations targeting the U.S. aircraft carrier Eisenhower in the northern Red Sea using several ballistic and cruise missiles. The operation was successfully carried out.” He did not specify details such as the scale of the missile launches, accuracy, or the extent of damage caused.
The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and its accompanying ships formed the Carrier-Strike Group (CSG) and departed from Norfolk, Virginia in October 2023. They have been stationed in the Red Sea since January, bombing the Houthi rebels. They are scheduled to rotate duties with the Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) CSG, which arrived in Busan on the 23rd.
The Houthi rebels, who criticize Israel for invading the Gaza Strip and the Western forces supporting it, have attacked more than 70 commercial and military vessels since November 2023, destroying two ships and hijacking one. At the same time, they also killed at least three sailors. Previously engaging in provocations against U.S. warships, they claimed for the first time on May 31 that they had attacked the Eisenhower. The U.S. military did not respond to the rebels’ claim at that time.
On the 22nd, Saree announced that they had also attacked a vessel named Transworld Navigator with a ballistic missile in the Arabian Sea while attacking the U.S. military. He further claimed that they would continue their attacks until Israel lifts the Gaza blockade on Gaza and stops attacking Palestine.
Two anonymous U.S. officials explained to CNBC on the 22nd that the Houthi rebels had lied. One of the officials emphasized that the Houthi rebels’ claims about the attack were “false.”
Meanwhile, Al-Masirah reported separately from the attack claim that the U.S. and British coalition forces conducted four airstrikes on the port city of Hodeidah in northwestern Yemen on the 22nd.
