US striking Yemen as response to deadly drone strike expands beyond Iraq and Syria

By Reuters 3 February 2024, 11:33 pm

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Illustrative: US Central Command forces alongside UK Armed Forces, and with the support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, conduct strikes on 8 Houthi targets in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen, on January 22, 2024. (Handout / US Central Command (CENTCOM) / AFP)

The United States is launching a series of strikes against Iran-linked targets in Yemen on Saturday, three US officials tell Reuters, in what appeared to be a second day of retaliatory operations following a deadly attack on American troops last weekend.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, do not provide further details on the locations being struck, but two of them said there were dozens of targets. Yemeni media reported strikes in Al-Hudaydah and Sanaa.

The United States on Friday carried out strikes in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militias it backs, reportedly killing nearly 40 people.

But while the United States accuses Iran-backed militias of attacking US troops at bases in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting commercial ships and warships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The United States has previously carried out more than 10 strikes against Houthi targets in the past several weeks, but they have failed to stop attacks by the group.