Second US aircraft carrier takes position in Middle East

A second American aircraft carrier has reached the Middle East, where Washington's forces are carrying out near-daily air strikes against Yemen's Huthi rebels, the US military said on Thursday.

The USS Carl Vinson -- which is armed with F-35C stealth warplanes -- is now working alongside the USS Harry S. Truman in the region, US Central Command said in a post on X that featured side-by-side video clips of aircraft taking off from the two ships.

The Pentagon announced last week that it was increasing the number of American carriers in the Middle East to two, after launching the latest round of its air campaign against the Iran-backed Huthis in March in a bid to end the threat they pose to civilian shipping and military vessels in the region.

A US defense official told AFP on Wednesday that the United States had struck more than 100 targets -- including command-and-control facilities and weapons manufacturing and storage sites -- in Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen since March 15.

Despite the strikes, the Huthis -- who control large swathes of Yemen and have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognized government since 2015 -- have continued to claim attacks against both US vessels and Israel.

The rebels began targeting shipping in late 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by a military campaign launched by Israel after a shock Hamas attack in October of that year.

Huthi attacks have prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal -- a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of the world's shipping traffic -- forcing many companies into a costly detour around the tip of southern Africa.

The United States first began conducting strikes against the Huthis under the Biden administration, and President Donald Trump vowed last week that military action against the rebels would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping.