US forces targeted Houthi forces in Yemen in a series of precision strikes on Monday and Tuesday after the Iran-backed terror group had launched a series of ballistic missiles at Israel in recent weeks.
American Navy ships and aircraft targeted Houthi command posts and weapons depots Monday and Tuesday, destroying the facilities that have been attacking military and merchant vessels in the region, according to US Central Command.
The strikes were focused on the capital city of Sana’a and coastal locations around the Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, including “advanced conventional weapon (ACW) production and storage facilities.”
“These facilities were used in Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
US Navy and Air Force aircraft also destroyed a Houthi coastal radar site and seven cruise missiles, the statement added.
CENTCOM said the strikes were part of the US military’s efforts to crack down on the Houthis’ attacks in the region, which began last year in solidarity with Hamas following Israel’s incursion in Gaza.
The rebels have repeatedly attacked cargo and tanker ships traveling through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and have launched missiles and drones at US forces stationed in the region.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam condemned the US strikes in Sana’a, and said the rebel forces would continue to defend themselves against American forces.
““The US aggression on Yemen is a blatant violation of the sovereignty of an independent state, and blatant support for Israel to encourage it to continue its crimes of genocide against the people of Gaza,” Abdulsalam said in a statement.
The US attacks come just days after the Israeli military launched a multi-wave attack across Yemen in retaliation for Houthi missile and drone strikes.
After Israel has nearly destroyed Hamas in Gaza and reached a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis are the last of the three Iranian proxy groups involved in the conflict who remain posing serious risks to Israeli security.
That’s good news for Israel, an Israeli defense insider told The Post in Tel Aviv last week, as “Yemen is not as advanced as Hamas and Hezbollah were.”
“What has happened now with Iran is their safety blanket is gone,” the insider said. “They can’t tell Israel, ‘if you attack us, then Hezbollah’s 200,000 rockets are going to be pointed at you.”
Israel Defense Forces warplanes hit key infrastructure like Sana’a International Airport — which is controlled by the Iran-backed terror group — in the Yemeni capital as well as power plants in Aziz and Ras Cantib.
The strike on the airport allegedly came within “a few meters” of where World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and his team were boarding their plane, according to the WHO chief.
The strikes came after Houthi forces have upped ballistic missile attacks on Israel — one of which on Dec. 20 slipped by Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system and injured more than a dozen people in Tel Aviv.
https://nypost.com/2024/12/31/world-news/us-launches-multiple-strikes-on-houthi-targets-in-yemen/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.