(Bloomberg) — The Houthis said they attacked a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea in response to deadly American and British airstrikes on their positions in Yemen on Thursday.
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The Iran-backed militant organization targeted the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a spokesman said in a televised speech on Friday. He gave no more details and there’s no indication the ship was damaged or close to being hit. The Houthis have regularly attacked US naval vessels this year with drones and missiles, all of them missing or being intercepted.
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The US and UK militaries struck 13 Houthi targets in Yemen and, according to the Houthis, killed at least 16 people. That would make it the deadliest assault on the group since the start of a military campaign in January to prevent its attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis said some of those people were civilians who were in the port city of Hodeida. Sanaa, the capital, and other areas were also struck, the Houthis said.
The US military said that, in addition to the strikes, it destroyed eight unmanned aerial vehicles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and surrounding waters on Thursday.
“It was determined that these UAVs and sites presented a threat to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region,” US Central Command, which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said.
Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden started in November and have disrupted global trade. Many major shipping firms are avoiding the area, which links to the Suez Canal, and sending ships going between Asia and Europe on much longer voyages around southern Africa. That’s sent freight rates soaring.
The militants have vowed to continue their attacks in solidarity with Palestinians and are calling on Israel to stop its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The assault comes as Israeli troops pursue Hamas militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite calls from the US, EU and other allies to exercise restraint and do more to protect civilians.
(Updates with news of attack on warship and with casualties.)
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