The US Navy said missiles hit 14 Houthi military targets that were preparing to launch further salvos at merchant vessels.
ADVERTISEMENTThe US military has fired another wave of ship and submarine launch missile strikes from the Red Sea against Houthi-controlled sites, as violence in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war continues to spill over in the Middle East.
The attack marks the fourth time in days the group in Yemen has been directly targeted and follows the latest Houthi attack on a commercial ship in the Red Sea.
The US strikes hit 14 missiles the command deemed an “imminent threat.” They follow an official announcement Wednesday that the US has put the Houthis back on its list of specially designated global terrorists.
The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing.
"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,” Central Command said in a statement posted on X late Wednesday.
Despite the sanctions and military strikes, including a large-scale operation carried out by US and British warships and warplanes on Friday that hit more than 60 targets across Yemen, the Houthis are continuing their harassment campaign of commercial and military ships.
The latest incident occurred on 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 Thursday a US raid on a dhow - a traditional Red Sea sailing vessel - intercepted ballistic missile parts the US said Iran was shipping to Yemen. Two US Navy SEALs remain unaccounted for after one was knocked off the vessel by a wave during the seizure and the second followed the overcome SEAL into the water.
On Wednesday, Pentagon press secretary Major General 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.
There have been several incidents since the Friday joint operations. The Houthis fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward a US Navy destroyer over the weekend, but the ship shot it down.
The Houthis then struck a US-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden on Monday and a Malta-flagged bulk carrier in the Red Sea on Tuesday. In response, on Tuesday, the US struck four anti-ship ballistic missiles that were prepared to launch and presented an imminent threat to merchant and US Navy ships in the region.
Hours later, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Zografia. The ship was hit, but no one was injured and it continued on its way.