A top U.S. Air Force commander believes the U.S. and allied offensive against Yemen’s Houthi rebels has crippled its capabilities and may be running out of weapons supplies.
Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewicz, the commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, told reporters last week that U.S. retaliatory strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi military group “certainly have an impact on their actions” and that weapons supplies have been “certainly influenced by their actions.” He said that this may be playing a role in the depletion of water. Associated Press reported.
“The challenge for us is to understand what the denominator was in the first place. In other words, what did they have in the first place? We obviously don’t know how much we attacked. “We also have an assessment of how successful those attacks were,” Grynkewicz said. He said.
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Houthi supporters participate in a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 8. (AP/Osama Abdulrahman)
Grynkewicz also noted the group’s “pace of activity” in recent weeks, saying it is “not what it used to be,” but added that the possibility of “Iranian resupply” is in the group’s arsenal. He warned that how low the holdings were could complicate the assessment.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have launched near-daily attacks on both commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent months, usually using drones launched from rebel-held areas of Yemen. and missiles are used.
These attacks have slowed in recent weeks, disrupting commercial shipping lanes in the region and prompting responses from the United States and its allies, including stepped-up naval patrols and widespread retaliatory attacks on weapons and ammunition facilities. . US warplanes also bombed Houthi drones and missiles as they prepared to launch.
Dr. Hawerber, Dr. Sumatra Maitra, director of research and advocacy at the conservative American Ideas Institute, cautioned against making such optimistic assessments of the group’s capabilities.
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In early February, a missile is fired from a warship during a U.S.-led coalition operation against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Over the weekend, the US and UK carried out joint attacks against the Houthis. (U.S. Central Command)
“I don’t think they have a shortage of weapons. I think that’s a premature opinion,” Maitra told FOX News Digital.
Maitra said the Houthis rely on “a lot of dumb weapons that don’t need to be targeted,” including “low-grade drones” that are cheap to produce and replenish.
Maitra instead cited increased patrols by U.S. and allied forces as one of the main factors for the recent slowdown in Houthi activity. Another potential reason for the slowdown could be instructions from Tehran, which is involved in negotiations between the Biden administration, Israel, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“The Iranians probably told them, ‘You need to hold the horses, we are negotiating with these people,’ because they are the main suppliers,” Maitra said. Ta.
On March 7, 2024, the British-flagged cargo ship Rubimar sank in international waters in the Red Sea after being targeted by Yemen’s Houthi forces. (Al-Joumhouriah Channel, Getty Images)
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The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The U.S. military believes the Houthis had dozens of anti-ship ballistic missiles at the start of the operation, the Associated Press reported, and the group said it was a means to pressure Israel to end the Gaza war. This is defended as.
Although attacks on U.S. forces by other Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have declined significantly since the U.S. retaliatory strikes in February, Grynkewicz said the Houthis are seeking independence from Iran. He pointed out that Iran is becoming increasingly sensitive and may not always “react” to instructions from the Iranian government. .
Maitra expressed a similar opinion, arguing that groups could “determine their own strategies” and could also “be much more fanatical.”
“They have a completely different perspective on world politics,” Maitra said.
People raise rifles and chant slogans during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians and Yemeni Houthi rebels in Sanaa, Yemen, March 22. (Mohamed Hammoud/Getty Images)
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That reality could lead to an increase in attacks with little warning, and Maitra argued that the group has not been significantly involved in Iran talks with the White House.
“The Houthis don’t really care who is in control in Iraq or what kind of negotiations the Biden administration is having with Iran,” Maitra said. “Their calculations are very different from ours.”
