Sanaa: Yemen’s Houthi group said they launched rocket and drone attacks targeting the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and two US destroyers in the Red Sea.
In a statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Tuesday that the attacks, both lasting eight hours, were carried out “in response to the British-American aggression on our country (Yemen), and support to the Palestinian and Lebanese people”.
Sarea held the US and Britain responsible for “turning the Red Sea region into a zone of military tension,” warning that “repercussions on (commercial) maritime navigation” would be very bad, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Houthi group would not stop attacking ships until Israel ends its war against Gaza and southern Lebanon, he added.
There has been no comment yet from the US military over the Houthi attacks.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported earlier on Tuesday on social media platform X two explosions near a commercial vessel 70 nautical miles southwest of Houthi-controlled Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, with all crew members remaining safe.
The Houthis have yet to comment on the incident.
Earlier on Tuesday, a Yemeni government military source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that at least 10 Houthi members were killed in two separate US drone strikes in Yemen’s central Al-Bayda province.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV also reported the two strikes by “US drones,” without providing further details.
In a previous report, Houthi television said “US-British navy coalition warplanes” launched three airstrikes against the Al-Fazah area, a few kilometres south of Hodeidah.
Also on Tuesday, US Central Command posted on social media platform X, saying, “Aircraft from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) support operations against Iran-backed Houthis in the US Central Command area of responsibility,” along with a video showing warplanes taking off from the aircraft carrier.
The Houthis and the US military have been attacking each other since November last year, when the Houthis began launching anti-ship missiles and drone attacks on what they said were “Israeli-linked” cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Since January, the US-British naval coalition stationed in the region has conducted regular air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group.
The Houthi group seized several northern provinces in late 2014 when the civil war in Yemen broke out, forcing the internationally recognised Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.
–IANS