Nearly two weeks after Israel launched its US-backed
genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the Yemeni army began firing missiles
and drones at Israel in support of Palestinians in the besieged enclave.
Yemen’s armed forces have also been targeting Israeli-linked
ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November last year.
The Yemeni army later broadened the scope of its attacks
targeting American and British warships. These attacks have been in response to
airstrikes carried out by these countries against Yemen with the aim of
compelling it to cease anti-Israel operations.
On Tuesday, the Yemeni army struck a significant blow to the
US Navy through the execution of two “specific military operations” off the
country’s coast.
“The first operation targeted the American aircraft carrier
(Abraham) located in the Arabian Sea with a number of cruise missiles and
drones,” the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces said.
Yahya Sarea added, “The other operation targeted two
American destroyers in the Red Sea with a number of ballistic missiles and
drones.”
He noted that the operation had “successfully achieved its
objectives”.
The US Defense Department admitted that US warships were
targeted but did not acknowledge the attack against the Abraham Lincoln vessel.
Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick
Ryder told reporters following the attacks that two US-guided missile
destroyers – the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance – were hit by at least eight
one-way attack drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship
cruise missiles.
He claimed that the United States military’s Central
Command (CENTCOM) forces “successfully repelled” the Yemeni army’s attacks
during a transit of the Bab al-Mandeb strait”, which connects the Red Sea to
the Gulf of Aden.
Since January this year, the US and the UK have conducted
multiple airstrikes in Yemen, claiming to target Ansarullah’s positions, with
the most recent operations taking place over the weekend.
The US has so far failed to force the Yemeni army to stop
its attacks against Israel and the regime’s ships.
The Ansarullah movement has stressed that it will halt the
strikes only if Israel ends its war of genocide on Gaza, which has so far
claimed the lives of more than 43,700 Palestinians.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that US strikes
against Yemen aim to “further degrade” Ansarullah’s military capability to
“protect and defend US forces and personnel in one of the world's most critical
waterways”.
For now, the targeting of US warships, including the Abraham
Lincoln vessel, clearly indicates that American strikes against Yemen have
backfired.
The Yemeni army has also shot down nearly a dozen US drones
over the country’s airspace in the wake of the Gaza war.
The Yemeni army has significantly upgraded its capabilities,
enabling it to effectively target sophisticated US naval vessels and aircraft.
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