The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said early Thursday morning that it carried out another waves of attacks from ship- and submarine-launched missile against 14 Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen.
This is the fourth time in days the U.S. has directly targeted the Houthi group in Yemen, as violence that ignited in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war continues to spill over in the Middle East.
The strikes followed the official announcement 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.
Meanwhile, a vessel sailing off Yemen has been hit, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations has reported.
The agency said it received a report of an incident 60 nautical miles southeast of Yemen’s Aden.
The master reported the “vessel has been hit on port side by an uncrewed aerial system”, it said.
“There was a fire onboard which has now been extinguished,” it added.
According to a statement on the Houthi strikes by the U.S. CENTCOM: “In the context of ongoing multi-national efforts to protect freedom of navigation and prevent attacks on U.S. and partner maritime traffic in the Red Sea, on Jan. 17 at approximately 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen.
“These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves.
“These strikes, along with other actions we have taken, will degrade the Houthi’s capabilities to continue their reckless attacks on international and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.”
“The actions by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander. “We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners and we will always protect our people.”
