The rebel group claims responsibility for the assault after reporting 16 deaths in US and UK attacks in Hodeidah province.
Yemen's Houthis say they launched a missile attack on a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea in response to deadly US and British strikes on Yemen.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced the attack on the Eisenhower aircraft carrier on Friday; The group previously claimed that at least 16 people were killed in US and UK attacks on Hodeidah province, the highest death toll publicly acknowledged in multiple rounds of attacks over the group's attack on shipping.
The aftermath of Thursday's attacks was announced on Al Masirah television, a Houthi-controlled channel, which aired a video that appeared to show wounded civilians being treated in Hodeidah. At least 42 people were reportedly injured.
“US-British aggression will not prevent us from continuing our military operations in support of Palestine,” Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said in X, warning that the rebels would “meet escalation with escalation.”
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in X that strikes against 13 Houthi targets had “successfully destroyed” eight unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen and over the Red Sea.
US Central Command Update May 30
(Sanaa time) on May 30, US Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Houthi-controlled areas backed by Iran in Yemen and over the Red Sea.… pic.twitter.com/uxtPyVecpU
— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 30, 2024
The British Ministry of Defense said Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s carried out strikes in Hodeidah and further south in Ghulayfiqah. He described the targets as “identified buildings that house drone ground control facilities and that provide storage for very long-range drones as well as surface-to-air weapons.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the military action was a form of “self-defense in the face of the constant threat posed by the Houthis.”
Not being upset
The Houthi movement, an Iran-aligned group that controls much of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against a Saudi-led and Western-backed coalition, has become a staunch supporter of the Palestinians in Israel's ongoing war. against Gaza, which has killed more than 36,000 people.
The group has launched repeated drone and missile attacks against ships in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November, demanding that Israel end the war.
In Tehran, Iran, an ally of the Houthis, condemned the US and UK attacks as “violations of Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity…, international law and human rights,” Iranian state media reported. .
“The aggressor governments of the United States and Britain are responsible for the consequences of these crimes against the Yemeni people,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani.
According to the US Maritime Administration, the Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on ships in total, killing three sailors, capturing one ship and sinking another. This week they attacked a ship transporting grain to Iran.
The campaign has forced shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 percent of global trade, diverting cargo to longer and more expensive voyages around southern Africa.
Since January, the United States and the United Kingdom have launched retaliatory attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen, aiming to degrade their ability to attack vital waterways. But the attacks have done little to deter the Houthis.
On Wednesday they said they had attacked a Greek-owned bulk carrier and several other vessels in response to Israeli attacks on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
