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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A declare by Yemen’s Houthi group on Saturday that its forces had attacked the U.S. plane provider Dwight D. Eisenhower within the Pink Sea is fake, two U.S. officers advised Reuters.
“That’s incorrect,” one of many officers mentioned, talking on situation of anonymity.
The Iran-aligned Houthis first launched drone and missile strikes in the important thing waterway for commerce in November in what they are saying is solidarity with Palestinian militants in Gaza, the place Israel has waged a greater than eight-month warfare.
In additional than 70 assaults, the Houthis have sunk two vessels, seized one other and killed at the very least three seafarers. However U.S. warships have efficiently intercepted nearly day by day Houthi assaults and repeatedly struck Houthi targets inside Yemen.
The Eisenhower, which ended its deployment to the Pink Sea on Saturday and can briefly reposition to the Mediterranean Sea, rushed to the area within the days following Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel.
“The (Eisenhower provider strike group) protected ships transiting the Pink Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden, rescued harmless mariners in opposition to the illegal assaults from the Iranian-backed Houthis and helped to discourage additional aggression,” the Pentagon mentioned in an announcement.
The Pentagon introduced the U.S. plane provider Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) will comply with the Eisenhower, heading to Center East waters as soon as it completes an train within the Pacific.
Earlier the Houthi group mentioned its forces had attacked the Eisenhower within the Pink Sea and the operation had achieved its goals efficiently, with out elaborating. The group additionally mentioned it attacked a business ship, Transworld Navigator, within the Arabian Sea. It didn’t say when the assaults came about.
A Houthi assertion mentioned the Transworld Navigator took a direct hit from a missile.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Modifying by Cynthia Osterman and Rod Nickel)
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