AL-MUKALLA: The US military has denied the Houthis’ claim that their most recent missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea struck and damaged the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower.
The US-funded Voice of America quoted a US Central Command source on Wednesday as saying that neither the USS Eisenhower nor any other US Navy ship was targeted by the Houthis, accusing the Houthis of employing misinformation propaganda to back up their allegations.
“There is no truth to the Houthi claim of striking the USS Eisenhower or any US Navy vessel. This is an ongoing disinformation campaign that the Houthis have been conducting for months,” the US Central Command told the VOA.
Yemen’s Houthi militia has claimed responsibility for targeting the Eisenhower carrier in the Red Sea twice in less than a week in reaction to US and UK bombings that killed at least 16 people in the Houthi-held Hodeidah, western Yemen, on Thursday.
The Houthis claimed that their missiles and drones “precisely” targeted the US carrier, and they posted photographs of the damaged ship on social media to support their claim.
In a post on X, Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi asked that the US military permit journalists to visit the US carrier to disprove their allegations, promising not to target US Navy ships during the visit.
“We asked you to allow a media mission and identify when it will visit the American warships. We pledge not to conduct any bombing operations during the visit,” Al-Houthi said.
At the same time, the US Central Command reported on Tuesday night that the Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea from regions under their control in Yemen in the previous 24 hours, but none of them struck any navy or commercial ships.
Over the last eight months, the Houthis have seized one commercial ship, destroyed another, and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at commercial and navy ships in the international sea lanes off Yemen, as well as the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.
The Houthis claim they exclusively target ships connected or traveling to Israel in order to push Israel to cease its assault in Gaza, and they attacked the US and US ships after the two countries struck Yemen.
Meanwhile, five Yemeni troops were killed on Wednesday morning while repelling a Houthi assault in the southern province of Lahj, local media and officials said.
Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, a spokesperson for pro-independence southern forces, told Arab News that the Houthis assaulted his men in the Kirsh district of Lahj on Wednesday morning, resulting in three hours of severe battle that killed five separatist forces and an unknown number of Houthis.
“This demonstrates that any peace plan cannot work in light of the Houthi militia’s ongoing military aggression on many fronts,” Al-Naqeeb said.
The Houthis’ attack on Wednesday is the latest in a series of deadly military actions by the Houthis aimed against government soldiers and pro-independence southerners in various areas.
On Sunday, two Yemeni troops were killed in a Houthi strike in northern Dhale province.
The Houthi military escalation comes as foreign mediators and diplomats continue diplomatic shuttles between Yemen and other regional countries in an attempt to restart peace talks to end the war in Yemen.
A number of EU ambassadors to Yemen concluded on Wednesday a visit to Yemen’s port city of Aden, the country’s temporary capital, after meeting with Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, ministers, the governor of the central bank, and other officials.
The ambassadors said they urged the Yemeni government and the PLC to work together to solve economic difficulties such as increasing revenues and improving public services, and they also voiced support for UN-brokered peace talks.
“They underscored the importance of ensuring respect for fundamental rights and a conducive operating environment for humanitarian and development actors helping Yemenis,” the EU ambassadors to Yemen said in a statement.
