A claim by Yemen's Houthi group on Saturday that its forces had attacked the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower in the Red Sea is false, two US officials told Reuters.
"That is incorrect," one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Iran-aligned Houthis first launched drone and missile strikes in the key waterway in November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinian militants in Gaza, where Israel has waged a more than eight-month-old war.
In more than 70 attacks, the Houthis have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.
Earlier the Houthi group said its forces had attacked the Eisenhower in the Red Sea and the operation had achieved its objectives successfully without elaborating. The group also said it attacked a commercial ship, Transworld Navigator, in the Arabian Sea. It did not say when the attacks took place.
A Houthi statement said the Transworld Navigator took a direct hit from a missile. The operation against the Eisenhower had achieved its objectives successfully, it said, without elaborating.
The alleged attack comes just after the terrorist organization presented its new “Toufan-1” unmanned vessel on the same day. A report from the Iranian state news website IRNA states that the new weapon "carries a 150 kg warhead and has a speed of 35 nautical miles per hour.”
Houthi-own media outlets also reported that Yemeni security services would reveal confessions by "the American-Israeli spy network" targeting Yemen's economic, oil, and communications sectors.
Recent reports involving the terror group
The Houthis also reportedly sunk the Greek-owned Tutor ship, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Tuesday. A Reuters report stated that the ship's manager could not be contacted for comment regarding the attack. One crew member from the event remains missing.
Also this week, managers of the Galaxy Leader renewed calls for the Yemeni group to release its 25-manned crew. The Iranian-back terror group reportedly has held the crew for seven months.
Seafarers are reportedly refusing to sail through the Red Sea due to increased attacks by the group, which is based on interviews with more than 15 crew members and shipping industry officials.
Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.