USS Carney firing interceptors at missiles and drones launched from Yemen over the Red Sea on October 19. Source: U.S. Army.
The United States carried out another round of strikes against the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen on January 17, marking the fourth time the U.S. has attacked the Iranian-backed group in less than a week.
In a statement, the Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the strikes targeted 14 missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen.
The missiles posed an “imminent threat” to commercial vessels and U.S. Navy ships, according to the command. The missiles could have been launched “at any time,” and the U.S. took action under the “inherent right and obligation to defend” US assets, it said.
“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, CENTCOM Commander. “We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners and we will always protect our people.”
Tomahawk missiles were launched from U.S. Navy surface vessels and the USS Florida, a guided missile submarine, two of the US officials told CNN.
Yemen’s Al Masirah TV said that U.S. strikes hit the provinces of al-Hudaydah, Taiz, Dhamar, al-Bayda and Saada, but didn’t report any casualties.
A source affiliated with the Houthis told the news channel that the attack was aimed to break “the naval siege of Israeli ports,” which was imposed by the group in response to the Israeli war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The U.S. strikes are the latest in a series of actions against the Houthis that began last week with a significant U.S.-led attack with the United Kingdom, and support from a number of other allies.
Just a few hours before the strikes, the Houthis attacked a U.S.-owned and operated vessel for the second time in less than a week.
The Used a “one-way attack drone” to target the M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden, according to CENTCOM. No one was injured on board the commercial vessel, the command said in a statement, adding that the ship suffered some damage but was able to continue on its way.
The Houthis said in a statement that M/V Genco Picardy was attacked in support of the Palestinian people and noted that the response to recent U.S. strikes on Yemen is coming.
It’s worth noting that the U.S. re-designated the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity just a day before the last wave of strikes.
“In response to these continuing threats and attacks, the United States announced the designation of Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions.”
The designation will likely lead to more escalation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It will also complicate the Yemen peace process, which saw some real progress over the past year.
The recent U.S. moves against Yemen show that Washington is more than willing to embark on another unwinnable war in the Middle East, risking its interests, assets and troops, just to appease Israel.
the pentacon mobsters got 4 palm trees and one lame camel according to their mastuh onkel tom still prostrated somewhere inside the demons lair in washing town.
‘…we will always protect our people’ except gonzalo lira
it’s all bullshit,smh i despise the stars and stripes.
us and israeli logic is the same. while they are in another’s back yard and attacking others, they have “the inherent right to self defense”. israeli trained us law use the same logic. when called for help, they arrive to shoot everyone and claim “they feared for their life”.
red sea still blocked usrael. when are you going to stop your genocide?
hopefully houthis will manage to sink some of real terrorists resp. the usa including their aggressor ships and carriers.i think an overload of missiles and drones at some point will outsmart even the strong us air-defence systems. yemen just needs one big success – one us ship sunk with all hands lost. maybe a destroyer, or large israeli bound containership – after that no insurance company will sign deal for travel through that seaway anymore !!
yemen being bombed by the us and its nato poodles isn’t anything out of the ordinary. they have been doing this on and off for years. finally yemen has a way of striking back and they are using it. the us know their bombs are not going to make the slightest of differences, as the people of yemen are determined and up to here with us democracy.
breaking news: yemen albawaba .com: us ship kim ranger hit by yemeni drone attack. also another ship “zografía” which headed to israel was targeted. http://alturl.com/uv4jg