The US military said it launched precision air strikes on Saturday against a missile storage facility and command and control facility operated by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen’s capital Sana’a.
In a statement, the US military’s Central Command said the strikes were aimed at “disrupting and degrading Houthi insurgency, including attacks on US longships and cargo ships in the South Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden”.
The military also said a Houthi drone shot down a cruise ship and an anti-ship missile over the Red Sea and that the strike undermined its “continuing mission to protect US and regional personnel and international shipping.”
Saturday’s attack followed a similar attack last week by US aircraft against a command and control facility operated by the Houthis, who controlled much of it. Yemen.
On Thursday, Israel launched airstrikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen and threatened more attacks against the group, which has fired hundreds of missiles at Israel in the past year.
An Iran-backed group has been attacking commercial shipping in Yemen’s Red Sea for more than a year in an attempt to enforce a naval blockade on Israel, saying it is acting in conjunction with the Palestinians in Israel’s war on Gaza.
The attack on the ships by the Houthis, who also fired missiles at Israel, prompted retaliation by the US and Britain.
The attack in Sana’a came on the same day that a Houthi missile struck Israel’s trade center in Tel Aviv, wounding 16 people in the second such strike in days.
The U.S. is seeking global support to give the UN clearer powers to interdict ships in the Red Sea heading for Yemen’s Houthi ports as part of a joint effort to weaken the Iranian-backed group, according to the US special envoy.
Also considering re-designing this Houthis as a terrorist group, a move that would make it more difficult for humanitarian agencies to work in the Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen.