The United States launched a new strike against Houthi forces in Yemen early Saturday, after the administration of President Joe Biden vowed to protect navigation in the Red Sea, according to Reuters.
The latest strike, which the United States said targeted a radar site, came a day after dozens of US and British strikes hit Houthi-affiliated facilities.
The US Central Command said in a statement on the X website that the guided missile destroyer USS Carson used Tomahawk missiles in the subsequent strike, which was carried out at 02:00 local time on Saturday “to reduce the Houthis’ ability to attack naval ships, including commercial ships.”
The Al-Masirah TV channel, affiliated with the Houthis, reported that the United States and Britain targeted the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, with a number of airstrikes.
In the early hours of Friday, US and British warplanes, ships, and submarines carried out strikes in Yemen against Houthi targets in response to attacks carried out by the movement on ships in the Red Sea, in a development that represents an expansion of the repercussions of the war between Israel and the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.
After Houthi leaders vowed to respond to those attacks, Biden said he may order more strikes if the Houthis do not stop their attacks on commercial and military ships in one of the world’s most important economic waterways.
Biden told reporters during a stop in the state of Pennsylvania on Friday: “We will definitely respond to the Houthis if they continue this heinous behavior.”
Witnesses in Yemen confirmed to Reuters the occurrence of explosions at military bases near airports in the capital Sana’a, Taiz, the third largest city in the country, a naval base in Hodeidah, the main port on the Red Sea, and military sites in the coastal province of Hajjah.
Yesterday, White House spokesman John Kirby pointed out that the strikes targeted reducing the Houthis’ ability to store, launch, and direct missiles and drones that the group used in recent months to threaten navigation in the Red Sea.
For its part, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) explained that the US-British attack reduced the Houthis’ ability to launch new attacks. The US Army said 60 targets were hit in 28 sites.
The Houthis, who control Sana’a and large areas in western and northern Yemen, said five fighters were killed, but they vowed to continue their attacks.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Authority said it had received reports of a missile falling into the sea about 500 meters from a ship about 90 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden. The British maritime security company Ambrey identified it as a Panama-flagged tanker carrying Russian oil.
