The Houthi group in Yemen has claimed responsibility for launching rocket and drone attacks on Tuesday, targeting the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and two US destroyers in the Red Sea.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea stated that the attacks, which lasted for eight hours, were a response to what they called the “British-American aggression” on Yemen, as well as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people, Xinhua reported.
Sarea accused the U.S. and Britain of escalating military tensions in the Red Sea region and warned that such actions could have severe consequences for commercial maritime traffic.
The group vowed to continue their attacks on maritime vessels until Israel halts its military actions in Gaza and southern Lebanon. The US military has not yet responded to the Houthi claims.
Earlier in the day, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported two explosions near a commercial ship 70 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, a port city controlled by the Houthis, though all crew members were reported safe. The Houthis have not commented on this incident.
Additionally, a Yemeni government military source disclosed that at least 10 Houthi militants were killed in two separate U.S. drone strikes in Yemen’s central Al-Bayda province. Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV also confirmed these strikes, attributing them to U.S. drones, but offered no further details, the international news agency reported.
In a separate report, Al-Masirah TV claimed that U.S.-British coalition warplanes had carried out airstrikes in the Al-Fazah area, south of Hodeidah.
Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command confirmed that aircraft from the USS Abraham Lincoln were involved in operations against Houthi forces in the region, posting a video of warplanes taking off from the carrier.
The ongoing conflict between the Houthis and the U.S. military began in November of the previous year, when the Houthis started launching missile and drone strikes on vessels they believed to be linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as part of their support for Palestinians in Gaza.
Since January, the U.S.-British naval coalition has been conducting regular airstrikes and missile attacks against Houthi targets in an effort to deter the group.
The Houthis seized several northern provinces in late 2014, sparking Yemen’s ongoing civil war and forcing the internationally recognised government to flee the capital, Sanaa.
