SANAA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said it launched a retaliatory attack against the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea on Sunday in response to dozens of U.S. airstrikes on its positions.
"The American enemy launched a blatant aggression against our country with more than 47 air raids targeting Sanaa and seven other governorates," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
"In response to the aggression, we carried out a military operation, targeting USS Harry S. Truman and its escorts with a drone and 18 ballistic and cruise missiles," Sarea stated.
The Houthi attack came after the Houthi Supreme Political Council -- the group's highest governing authority -- vowed a "painful" retaliation, framing the American attacks as support for Israel and warning they would "drag the situation to a more severe and painful level."
The spokesperson also confirmed that his group would "continue to impose a naval blockade on the Israeli enemy" in its area of operations, including the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, until the entry of aid into Gaza is permitted.
U.S. warplanes launched extensive airstrikes across northern Yemen on Saturday night, targeting multiple Houthi-controlled locations. According to the latest Houthi estimates on Sunday, the bombardment resulted in at least 53 deaths and 98 injuries.
This is the first U.S. military operation against the Houthi group since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed power in January and redesignated the group as a "foreign terrorist organization."
Trump warned on the social media platform Truth Social on Saturday that if the Houthis do not stop their attacks on the Red Sea shipping, "hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before," claiming the U.S. aerial attacks on the "terrorists' bases, leaders, and missile defenses were to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom."
The U.S. Central Command said earlier on X platform that the airstrikes were launched from a U.S. aircraft carrier north of the Red Sea.
The U.S. airstrikes came days after the Houthi group announced on Tuesday that it would resume launching attacks against Israeli-linked shipping until the crossings of the Gaza Strip are reopened and aid allowed in.
From November 2023 to Jan. 19 this year, the Houthi group, which currently controls much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, launched dozens of attacks against Israel-linked ships and Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians who are engulfed in a prolonged conflict with Israel.
The attacks later expanded to include U.S. and British ships after the U.S.-British navy coalition started to intervene and launch strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group.
The Houthis stopped their attacks on Jan. 19, when a Gaza ceasefire deal took effect. ■
