The U.S. military said Saturday it conducted precision airstrikes against missile storage and command and control facilities run by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen's capital Sanaa.
The U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the strikes were aimed at “disrupting and degrading Houthi operations, including attacks on U.S. naval warships and commercial vessels in the southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden.” He said he did.
The U.S. military also attacked multiple Houthi drones and anti-ship cruise missiles over the Red Sea, saying the attack was “an attempt by the U.S. military to protect U.S. and coalition personnel, regional partners, and international shipping. “This reflects our continued efforts,” he said.
Saturday's attack followed a similar attack by U.S. military aircraft last week on command and control facilities run by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen.
On Thursday, Israel launched attacks on ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, threatening further attacks against the group, which has fired hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.
Iranian-backed groups in Yemen claim to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the more than year-long Gaza war against Israel, and have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea for more than a year in an effort to enforce a naval blockade against Israel.
The Houthi attacks on ships have also fired missiles at Israel, prompting retaliatory attacks by the United States and Britain.
The US attack on Sanaa came on the same day that Houthi missiles struck the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv, wounding 16 people in the second attack in recent days.
The United States is seeking to give the United Nations explicit authority to intercept ships bound for Houthi-held Yemeni ports in the Red Sea as part of a concerted effort to weaken Iranian-backed groups, according to a US special envoy. We are asking for global support.
It is also considering redesignating the Houthis as a terrorist organization, which would make it more difficult for humanitarian organizations to operate within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
