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Houthis claim strikes on two US aircraft carrier groups

"Missile forces and drone units launched two cruise missiles and two drones at the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its associated ships in the northern part of the Red Sea," the movement said

The US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman AP Photo/Darko Bandic

The US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman

© AP Photo/Darko Bandic

DUBAI, April 21. /TASS/. Houthi rebels from the Yemen-based Ansar Allah movement have claimed responsibility for targeting the US aircraft carrier groups led by the USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Carl Vinson, the movement’s military spokesman Yahya Saria said.

"Missile forces and drone units launched two cruise missiles and two drones at the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its associated ships in the northern part of the Red Sea. The second operation, carried out by naval forces, missile troops and drone units, targeted the USS Carl Vinson and its associated ships in the Arabian Sea, using three cruise missiles and four drones," he told the Al Masirah TV channel.

Saria added that "the goals of both military operations were successfully accomplished."

This is the second time the Houthis have claimed strikes on two US aircraft carriers. The US Central Command said in mid-April that the second carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, had arrived in the Middle East to support the USS Harry S. Truman’s operations against the rebels.

Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip in 2023, the Houthis warned that they would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships associated with Israel from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. Houthi attacks halted after a ceasefire was declared in Gaza in mid-January but after the ceasefire was broken in early March, the rebels announced a renewed wave of strikes on Israeli ships in the Red Sea, and also started trying to conduct missile attacks on targets in Israel.

On March 15, the US began launching massive strikes on Houthi facilities in Yemen based on an order from President Donald Trump. The US Central Command said that the goal was to defend American interests and restore freedom of navigation. In response, the Ansar Allah movement carried out a series of attacks on the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the northern part of the Red Sea, using missiles and drones. There were no reports of damage to the vessel.

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