CAIRO, June 1 (Reuters) – Yemen’s Houthis conducted six operations targeting a U.S. aircraft carrier, a U.S. destroyer and three vessels in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, the Iranian-backed group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Saturday.
The Houthi militia, which controls the most populous parts of Yemen and is aligned with Iran, has attacked ships off its coast for months, saying it is acting 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 it was “the second targeting operation against the carrier during the past 24 hours.”
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The spokesperson also added that the other operations have targeted a U.S. 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.
That has forced shippers since November to re-route cargo on longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Hatem Maher; Writing by Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Chris Reese and Daniel Wallis)
