The US military said Wednesday that it launched more strikes on Yemen, claiming to target underground Houthi weapons storage facilities.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces “conducted multiple precision strikes against two Iranian-backed Houthi underground Advanced Conventional Weapon (ACW) storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen.”
Yemeni media reported five airstrikes in the Amran province and two in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. It’s unclear if there were any casualties in the attacks, which Yemeni media reported as “US-British airstrikes.” The UK has joined the US in several rounds of airstrikes on Yemen, but it’s unclear if British forces were involved in the latest bombing.
CENTCOM claimed that the Houthis used the “facilities to conduct attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
In recent weeks, the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have stepped up their attacks on US warships and on Israel despite a nearly years-long US bombing campaign against them. In one incident, the US ended up shooting down its own F/A-18 fighter jet while intercepting Houthi missiles and drones.
January 12 will mark one year of the US bombing campaign against the Houthis, which President Biden launched to defend Israeli shipping, which Ansar Allah began targeting in response to the onslaught in Gaza. Since then, the situation has only escalated as the Houthis began targeting US and British-linked shipping in response.
Israeli media has reported that President-elect Donald Trump might escalate attacks on the Houthis after his inauguration on January 20. Trump took a hardline position on Yemen in his previous term, strongly backing the Saudi war against the Houthis and vetoing a congressional resolution to end US involvement in the conflict.
From 2015-2022, the US backed the Saudi war on Yemen, which involved heavy airstrikes and a blockade, and the Houthis only became a more capable fighting force during that time.
According to the UN, the war killed at least 377,000 people, with more than half dying of starvation and disease caused by the siege. A ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudis has held relatively well since April 2022, but new US sanctions are blocking the implementation of a lasting peace deal.
