U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Wednesday that U.S. forces carried out retaliatory strikes against Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen over the weekend.
All of these facilities are located within Houthi-held territory and are home to a variety of facilities used by the Iranian-backed group to target U.S. and other international forces, as well as civilian vessels navigating the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. It housed advanced conventional weapons.
U.S. Air Force and Navy assets, including F-35Cs, were used during the operation. This is the first time the F-35C stealth attack fighter has been used in combat, a US defense official told Fox News.
The operation, which took off from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf of Aden, also included F-35C attack fighters.
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On November 9, a Houthi target is destroyed by US forces in Yemen. (Centcom)
Centcom said this targeted operation was carried out in response to repeated illegal attacks by Houthi rebels on international commercial shipping, U.S. and coalition forces, and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden. announced.
The attack was also aimed at reducing the group's ability to threaten its partners in the region.
Additional assets involved in the operation included the USS Stockdale (DDG 106), the USS Spruance (DDG 111), and the USS Spruance (DDG 111), which successfully destroyed a series of weapons fired by the Houthis while transiting the Babou al Sea area. Also included were aircraft from the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy. Mandebu Strait.
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The USS Abraham Lincoln is equipped with F-35c Steak Strike fighters. (U.S. Central Command Public Affairs Office)
“These forces successfully engaged and destroyed eight unidirectional attack unmanned aircraft systems (OWA UAS), five anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM), and four anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM). , ensuring the safety of the vessel and its personnel,'' Centcom said.
CENTCOM added that no U.S. military personnel were injured and no U.S. facilities were damaged during the operation.
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Houthi rebel fighters march at a rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and against the US attack on Yemen. (AP photo)
Centcom said the actions taken over the weekend reflect the force's continued efforts to protect U.S. personnel, regional partners and international shipping vessels while maintaining regional security and stability.
The announcement came days after another operation on Monday. In this operation, CENTCOM forces conducted retaliatory strikes against Iranian-linked targets in Syria.
“U.S. Centcom forces conducted an airstrike.” [Monday] Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Rider said in a press conference Tuesday that the attack on nine targets and two locations linked to Iranian organizations in Syria was in response to several attacks over a 24-hour period on U.S. military personnel in Syria. He said he had carried out an attack. This would reduce the ability of Iranian-backed groups to plan and launch future attacks against US and coalition forces in the region to defeat ISIS operations. ”
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Similar to last weekend's targeted operations, CENTCOM conducted strikes in Syria in response to several attacks on U.S. forces.
Fox News Digital's Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
