US warplanes hit Houthis’ advanced weapons storage facilities in Yemen strikes
Iran-backed militia’s TV network says UK also participated in three raids on sites in Sanaa’s southern Al Sabeen district
US warplanes staged multiple strikes Saturday night on Iran-backed Houthi advanced weapons storage facilities in Yemen, the Pentagon said.
The facilities contained various weapons used to target military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to information provided to AFP by the Pentagon.
The Houthi-run Al Masirah television network reported three American and British raids that targeted the capital Sanaa’s southern Al Sabeen district.
The United Kingdom did not confirm involvement in the strikes.
The United States and Britain have repeatedly struck Houthi targets in Yemen since January in response to attacks by the Iran-backed rebels on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis have also directly attacked Israel with ballistic missiles and drones.
The Houthis, a terror group, say the attacks on global shipping and on Israel are in support of Palestinian terror group Hamas, which led an invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which killed some 1,200 people were massacred and 251 taken hostage, sparking the war in Gaza.
In more than 100 Houthi attacks over nearly a year, four sailors have been killed and two ships have sunk, while one vessel and its crew remain detained since being hijacked last November.
The attacks have seriously disrupted a maritime route that carries 12 percent of global trade, triggering reprisal strikes by the United States and Britain against rebel targets in Yemen. Israel has also twice bombed Houthi targets in retaliation for ballistic missile and drone attacks, including one that killed a man in Tel Aviv.
According to a United Nations report published last week, the Houthis have transformed into a “powerful military organization” due to “unprecedented” military support from outside sources, particularly Iran and Hezbollah, over the course of the past 13 months.
The report said that the rebel group has “exploited” the war in Gaza to enhance their status in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Hamas and Hezbollah, to gain popularity in the region and beyond.
Saturday’s strikes on the Houthis come three days after the group’s leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi criticized US president-elect Donald Trump for supporting Israel.
Houthi said that normalization deals between Arab countries and Israel brokered by Trump had failed to bring an end the Middle East conflict and that he would fail again in his upcoming second term as US president.
