US: Houthi surface-to-air missile hit in strike, amid ‘imminent threat’ to aircraft
CENTCOM says projectile was ‘prepared to launch’ at American planes; Iran-backed group fires missile into Red Sea in separate incident
US forces struck and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile in Yemen Friday after deciding it posed an “imminent threat” to American aircraft, the US Central Command in the Middle East announced on X.
It is unclear if there were any casualties on the ground.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of war-torn Yemen, have been attacking shipping in the Red Sea since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The US is spearheading a naval coalition to protect vessels in the vital waterway, and has also conducted air strikes in Houthi territory, both on its own and alongside Britain.
On Friday afternoon, US “forces conducted a self-defense strike against one Iranian-backed Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared to launch,” CENTCOM said in a statement, adding it had “determined [the missile] presented an imminent threat to US aircraft in the region.”
It went on to say that the Houthis on Friday night had launched an anti-ship missile into the Red Sea, but “there was no impact or damage to any vessels.”
There have been over 30 US strikes in Yemen over the past month and a half; a few were conducted with allied involvement. In addition, US warships have taken out dozens of incoming missiles, rockets and drones targeting commercial and other Navy vessels.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels since November 19 as a protest against Israel’s military operations in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack in which terrorists rampaged through Israel’s south, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253.
The attacks have forced some importers to find alternate routes to transfer their goods, causing shipping to take longer and causing potentially severe damage to the economy.
In response, the US and the UK have struck Houthi targets in Yemen, causing the Iran-backed group to declare a ban on Friday on all US-, UK-, and Israeli-owned ships passing through the Red Sea. However, ships with no clear links to those countries have been targeted as well.
The Houthis have also fired rockets and launched drones toward Israel.
