Houthis claim fourth hit against U.S. warships

SANAA, Yemen (AFP) — Yemen’s Houthis claimed on Wednesday to have carried out a fourth attack in 72 hours on an American fleet in the Red Sea, as the United States (US) military said its campaign against the Iran-backed rebels was ongoing.

The Houthis’ military spokesperson said cruise missiles and drones targeted the USS Harry S. Truman carrier group in an attack that was “the fourth within 72 hours.”

An hour earlier, the US Central Command confirmed its “continuous operations against Iran-back Houthi terrorists.”

The US launched heavy strikes against the Tehran-sponsored group beginning Saturday, prompting mass protests in the war-torn country and retaliatory efforts that a US general said were widely missing their mark.

Washington has pledged to hit Yemen with lethal and overwhelming force until the Houthis stop firing on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The trade route typically handles around 12 percent of global shipping traffic.

Part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against the US and Israel, the Houthis have been hampering the trade lane since the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.

The Houthis said the US bombardment would not stop their support for Gaza.

“The US aggression will not deter the steadfast and struggling Yemen from fulfilling its religious, moral and humanitarian duties toward the Palestinian people,” the Houthis said in a statement Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Hamas-allied rebels also took responsibility for a missile intercepted by Israel, and vowed to escalate attacks after the resumption of massive military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday’s missile, which the Houthis said targeted an air base, was the first reported attack on Israel from Yemen since the 19 January ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Israel said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, after air raid sirens sounded in Beersheba and parts of the Negev desert.

A military statement later said that “a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF (air force) prior to crossing into Israeli territory.”