The Houthis of Yemen claim to have attacked the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower in the Red Sea

In retaliation to American and British attacks on Yemen, the Houthis, an Iranian-backed organization, launched a missile attack toward the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower in the Red Sea, according to military spokeswoman Yahya Saree on Friday.

Reuters was informed by a U.S. defense official that no attack had been detected on the Eisenhower.

In a televised speech, Saree said that six strikes by the United States and the United Kingdom had left 16 dead and 41 wounded, including civilians.

According to Saree, there were strikes in the province of Hodeidah that targeted the port of Salif, two houses, the Ghalifa camp, and a radio installation in the Al-Hawk region.

In an effort to prevent the rebel group from further interfering with ships in the Red Sea, the U.S. and British forces stated that they began attacking Houthi targets in Yemen on Thursday.

According to the U.S. Central Command, American and British forces had struck 13 targets in Yemeni territory under Houthi control.

The joint action, according to the British Ministry of Defense, was directed towards three facilities in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, which were purported to be home to surface-to-air missiles and drones.

The British defense ministry stated, “As ever, the utmost care was taken in planning the strikes to minimize any risk to civilians or non-military infrastructure.”

“Conducting the strikes in the hours of darkness should also have mitigated yet further any such risks.”

The strikes, according to Houthi spokesperson Mohamed Abdelsalam, are a “brutal aggression” against Yemen as retaliation for that country’s backing of Gaza.

According to Iranian official media, Iran denounced the strikes as “violations of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity…, international laws and human rights”.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani stated, “The aggressor U.S. and British governments are responsible for the consequences of these crimes against the Yemeni people.”

As a show of support for the Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis, who rule over the capital and most of the country, have been attacking international vessels in the Red Sea region since November. This has prompted retaliatory actions from the United States and the United Kingdom since February.