USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea. Photo: CENTCOM.
Washington is allegedly planning to continue its strikes against Yemen once a ceasefire in Gaza takes effect
The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) said in a statement on 15 January that it targeted the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier and other US warships in the Red Sea.
“The missile force and the drone air force of the Yemeni Armed Forces … carried out a joint military operation targeting the American aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and a number of its warships in the northern Red Sea with a number of winged missiles and drones, during their attempt to carry out operations to target Yemen,” the statement said.
“This targeting of the carrier is the sixth since its arrival in the Red Sea,” it added. Yemeni operations against Israeli maritime interests in the Red and Arabian Seas, which last year prompted the start of a violent US–UK campaign of airstrikes against Yemen, have continued.
Sanaa has since targeted several aircraft carriers and many warships. The Yemeni army also continues to directly target Israel in support of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. On Tuesday, it launched a missile at Tel Aviv, marking its third operation within 12 hours.
The YAF said in its statement on Wednesday that it is “ready for any American or Israeli escalation and will continue to perform its duties towards the oppressed Palestinian people,” vowing that “operations will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has not acknowledged the latest operations targeting its warships in the Red Sea.
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The Yemeni army’s announcement coincides with talk of continued escalation against Yemen by Washington and Tel Aviv.
According to Al-Akhbar newspaper, “there are no American–Israeli intentions to stop the aggression against Yemen, after the cessation of the war in Gaza.” The newspaper also reported that Washington has been holding talks with representatives of UAE-backed mercenary groups in the Saudi capital.
Several areas of Yemen came under a heavy tripartite attack launched by the US, UK, and Israel on 10 January, which included strikes on an area in the capital where a massive civilian demonstration was commencing.
Israel – despite dealing with a significant intelligence gap in Yemen – has recently launched large-scale attacks on the country and has vowed to continue its campaign.
Israeli news outlet Channel 12 said the tripartite strikes against Yemen were “planned in advance, as part of a change in Israel’s policy towards Yemen.”
