Bt Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier left the Red Sea after serving for months to thwart the Yemeni Houthi group's attacks on commercial shipping, the Pentagon said Saturday.
"The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKE CSG) departed the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility today and will remain briefly in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility before returning home after more than seven months deployed in support of U.S. regional deterrence and force protection efforts," spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.
Following the completion of a scheduled exercise in the Indo-Pacific, Ryder said the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group will arrive in the Red Sea to continue the mission.
The Eisenhower protected ships transiting the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb and the Gulf Aden during its deployment, he said, adding it also rescued "innocent mariners against the unlawful attacks from the Iranian-backed Houthis, and helped to deter further aggression.”
The Houthi group has been targeting Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7.
The Red Sea is one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.
Earlier this year, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a multinational mission, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to counter Houthi attacks.