WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group that for months has launched crucial strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen to protect military and commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden will remain in the region for at least another month, according to U.S. officials.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed the order last week to extend the four ships’ deployment for a second time, rather than bring the carrier, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and its three warships home. The other ships in the strike group are the USS Philippine Sea, a cruiser, and two destroyers, the USS Gravely and the USS Mason. All together they include about 6,000 sailors.
The decision means the sailors and the carrier’s Air Wing won’t be home until the middle of the summer, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not made public. The officials declined to provide exact dates.
A normal ship deployment lasts for about seven months, and the ships left their homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, in October. Austin approved the first order to extend their deployment about four weeks ago.
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“Tensions Escalate as Houthis Claim Missile Strike on USS Eisenhower Amidst US-UK Yemen Strikes”
Story by Emma Taylor
1 JUNE 2024
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have asserted that they targeted the US Navy’s nuclear-powered supercarrier, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), with a missile attack in the Red Sea.
This announcement comes after the supercarrier was reported to have returned from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Red Sea, and in the wake of airstrikes carried out by aircraft launched from the Eisenhower on targets in Yemen.
According to Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the Houthis, the alleged strike was a retaliatory measure for the joint US and UK military operations in Yemen, which reportedly resulted in casualties including both combatants and civilians.
The Houthi claim of having launched a successful missile attack raises considerable concern, given the intensifying conflict and the strategic significance of the Red Sea as a vital shipping lane.
However, this Houthi assertion is met with skepticism by US defense officials.
Statements from the defense sector categorically deny the validity of these claims, with a US defense official confiding to Business Insider that there is no truth to the reports of the Eisenhower being struck.
The carrier strike group, which also includes the USS Gravely, Mason, and the cruiser Philippine Sea, is known to conduct operations capable of countering missile and drone threats at considerable distances, thereby questioning the likelihood of such an attack reaching its purported target.
The US Navy has not confirmed any such incident, and defense officials remain unaware of any missiles having been fired at the Eisenhower.
The Houthis’ claims, thus far unsubstantiated, reflect an ongoing narrative battle within the broader conflict in Yemen.