The United States conducted another round of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Wednesday. A series of attacks by the Iran-allied militia on ships in the region since November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe.
The US military said the latest strikes would degrade the Houthi’s capabilities to continue their reckless attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. “The actions by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander.
U.S. CENTCOM Strikes Houthi Terrorist Missile LaunchersIn the context of ongoing multi-national efforts to protect freedom of navigation and prevent attacks on U.S. and partner maritime traffic in the Red Sea, on Jan. 17 at approximately 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central… pic.twitter.com/MMCQbzr1f7
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 18, 2024
This comes after the United States and Britain hit nearly 30 sites in Yemen with more than 150 munitions last week. The US military said earlier on Wednesday that a drone launched from areas controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen had struck a US-owned vessel in the Gulf of Aden. There were no injuries and some damage reported in the attack, the U.S. Central Command said on X. The vessel, M/V Genco Picardy, is “a Marshall Islands flagged, US owned and operated bulk carrier ship,” according to the US Central Command.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and have threatened to expand their attacks in response to earlier American and British strikes from last week. On Wednesday, the United States returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of terrorist groups, opens new tab, as the militants also claimed another attack this week on a US-operated vessel in the Red Sea region.
Despite the sanctions and military strikes, the Houthis are continuing their harassment campaign of commercial and military ships. The latest incident occurred Wednesday when a one-way attack drone was launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen and struck the Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned and -operated M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden. The US has also strongly warned Iran to cease providing weapons to the Houthis.
On Wednesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the US would continue to take military action to prevent further attacks. “They are exploiting this situation to conduct attacks against the ships and vessels from more than 50 countries … around the world. And so we’re going to continue to work with our partners in the region to prevent those attacks or deter those attacks in the future,” Ryder said.
(With agency inputs)
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