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American forces strike Houthi targets in Yemen for the fourth time.
Pentagon authorities announced on Wednesday night that the US has launched a fourth wave of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen who are backed by Iran.
American forces targeted about 14 Houthi missiles, which the US said may have been meant for assaults on ships in the Red Sea.
The US Middle East command, or Centcom, reported that US Navy ships fired Tomahawk missiles at the locations. The US classified the Houthis as “global terrorists” at the same time as the strikes.
According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the action was taken in reaction to the militants’ continuous attacks on commercial vessels in the area, and it overturned an earlier decision made by the Biden administration to remove the designation.
With the justification that they were reacting to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the Houthis started attacking cargo vessels in November.
Since then, the gang has attacked numerous commercial tankers travelling through the Red Sea, one of the busiest shipping channels in the world.
On January 11, the US and the UK retaliated by attacking many Houthi targets with a barrage of airstrikes. Australia, Bahrain, the Netherlands, Canada, and other allies backed the strikes, which started when the Houthi troops disregarded a warning to stop their attacks in the area.
The raids on Houthi sites on Wednesday came after more assaults on commercial ships.
The group had earlier this week targeted a US-owned and controlled vessel for the second time.
According to Centcom, the rebels targeted the M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden using a one-way drone. Although there was substantial damage to the ship, no crew members were hurt in the attack.
It seemed that the Houthis had successfully attacked one American ship since the start of their assault when they launched a ballistic missile against another US vessel on Monday.
According to US authorities, the strikes on Wednesday were preventive in nature and destroyed weaponry that the militants were about to launch.
“These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting US forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves,” Centcom stated.
“These strikes, along with other actions we have taken, will degrade the Houthi’s capabilities to continue their reckless attacks on international and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden,” concluded the statement.
The reporter among others was informed by the UK Ministry of Defence that it was not a part of the most recent round of strikes.
The US would keep acting against the Houthis as long as their forces “continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways,” according to Gen. Micheal Kurilla, head of Centcom.
Yemen has been ravaged by a civil conflict that intensified in 2015 after the Houthis overthrew the internationally recognised government in much of the country’s west and a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia intervened to attempt and reestablish government control.
According to reports, the battle has claimed more than 160,000 lives and resulted in one of the biggest humanitarian disasters in history, with 21 million people, or two thirds of the population, in need of relief.