The Houthi group, designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, claimed on Saturday, June 22, 2024, that its forces had launched ballistic and cruise missiles at the US aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the northern Red Sea. The claim came just hours after the US Navy announced the carrier's departure from the region.

In a statement released by Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree, the group asserted that its forces had targeted the Eisenhower with multiple ballistic and cruise missiles. The statement also claimed an attack on the commercial cargo vessel "Transworld Navigator" in the Arabian Sea.

Earlier in the day, the US Navy confirmed the departure of the USS Eisenhower from the Red Sea, coinciding with the deployment of a carrier currently stationed in the Pacific Ocean to the Middle East to continue the US presence in the region.

According to a report by the US Navy news website translated by Bran Press, flight trackers observed a C-2A Greyhound aircraft belonging to the Eisenhower flying from the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain to the Mediterranean Sea.

A US official cited by the report stated that the decision to withdraw the Eisenhower was made after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin opted not to extend the deployment of the Navy's second-oldest carrier for a third time.

According to the official, the Eisenhower had been deployed for over eight months, exceeding the deployment duration of any other US-based carrier in the past five years. "It's time to bring them home," the official said.

While the official did not confirm which carrier from the Pacific would be taking over operations from Eisenhower, the US Navy news website's ship tracking data suggests that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, deployed from San Diego, California, in January, is the most likely candidate.

The Houthi claims of attacks on the US carrier and the commercial vessel remain unverified. The US Navy has not yet commented on the alleged attacks.