Yemen's Houthis launch 2nd strike on U.S. aircraft carrier in less than 24 hours

SANAA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said Saturday night it had launched fresh attacks on the U.S. aircraft carrier Eisenhower, another U.S. warship and four commercial cargo vessels in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.

That marked the group's second strike against Eisenhower in less than 24 hours, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Navy or the targeted shipping companies.

Sarea announced the first strike on Friday, saying it was in response to U.S.-Britain joint operations on Thursday night against Houthi positions, which killed 16 people and wounded another 41.

Besides Eisenhower, Sarea on Saturday also claimed a drone attack on an unnamed U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea and "a number of operations" targeting commercial vessels accused of violating a Houthi ban on entering Israeli ports. The targeted ships included MAINA, ALORAIQ, and ABLIANI.

Sarea vowed further attacks until "Israel stops its war and blockade against the Palestinians in Gaza."

Since November last year, the Houthi group has launched anti-ship ballistic missiles and drones targeting what they said were Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea, to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the U.S.-British naval coalition stationed in the waters has since January conducted air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets.