The US military announced on Saturday that it had struck three underground storage facilities used by the Houthis in Yemen. The strikes were carried out in self-defense in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that the Houthi attacks have “resulted in the deaths of three mariners, the sinking of a merchant vessel legally transiting the Red Sea, the disruption of humanitarian assistance to Yemen, and the harming of regional economies and causing environmental damage.”
CENTCOM said that the storage facilities “posed a threat to US and coalition forces, commercial shipping, and regional stability.” The strikes were carried out “to protect our forces, ensure freedom of navigation, and make the international waters safer for the US, coalition, and commercial vessels.”
On Friday, CENTCOM announced that a coalition warship had destroyed a Houthi drone and two ballistic missiles that were fired towards the Red Sea.
The US has been leading a coalition of international navies in the Red Sea since 2019 to “protect” maritime navigation in the strategic waterway, which carries 12% of global trade.
The US and the UK have been conducting strikes against the Houthis since January 2024 in an effort to deter their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for over 73 attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea since November 2023. These attacks have forced shipping companies to reroute their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, adding to the cost of global shipping.
