Update (0827 EST): The U.S. has denied the Houthi claims.
At approximately 0630 EST, Houthi spokespersons began claiming that their forces had successfully targeted and struck the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower in the Red Sea, in response to U.S.-UK airstrikes in Yemen over the last twenty-four hours.
The Houthi spokesperson, speaking to the Ansarr Allah Media Center, said that the USS Eisenhower received a “direct and accurate” hit from a number of ballistic missiles and drones.
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— ?????? ???????? AMC (@AnsarrAllahMC1) May 31, 2024
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— ?????? ???????? AMC (@AnsarrAllahMC1) May 31, 2024
These claims have not been corroborated by the United States nor a third-party. While the Houthis have claimed to have targeted and struck U.S. naval vessels in the Red Sea before (falsely), this is the first time they have claimed to have struck the USS Eisenhower.
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier currently in service with the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1977, the ship is the second of ten Nimitz-class aircraft carriers currently in service. On October 14th, 2023, Lloyd Austin directed Dwight D. Eisenhower and her carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser Philippine Sea, and destroyers Laboon, Mason and Gravely, to the eastern Mediterranean in response to Israel’s war with Hamas.
