U.S. Launches New Wave of Retaliatory Strikes against Houthi Rebels

(TargetDailyNews.com) – The U.S. and U.K. initiated a second wave of bombings in Yemen, hitting 36 targets affiliated with Houthi rebels on Saturday, February 3rd. The Houthis are an Iranian-backed militia that controls large parts of Yemen and who have attacked commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea with weapons alleged to have been provided by Iran.

The Houthis blamed Israel for their attacks and claimed to exclusively target vessels that were affiliated with the Zionist state. They’ve been engaged in harassing U.S. assets and commercial vessels in response to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza against Hamas. The second round of strikes in Yemen is an attempt to deter Houthis from continuing to attack vessels without expanding the conflict by bringing U.S. military hardware down on Iranians directly.

U.S. Central Command added that there was an additional strike on Sunday to destroy a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile that was being prepared for launch. They called the weapon an imminent threat to U.S. and commercial vessels and said their strike protected freedom of navigation and made the area more secure.

The dozens of hits on Saturday were launched from U.S. warships in the Red Sea as well as British jets. There were previous strikes on Friday in Iraq and Syria which military leadership said targeted various militias affiliated with Iran.

U.S. officials speaking anonymously said that F-18s launched from the USS Eisenhower along with Tomahawk missiles fired from two destroyers and British fighter jets cooperated to hit dozens of targets over 13 locations. The strikes were largely in retaliation for a drone attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan which resulted in the deaths of three servicemen and dozens of injuries.

The Houthis have been regularly attacking commercial and naval assets in the region. They’ve said that international pressure or military strikes will not deter them. Houthi leader Mohammed al-Bukhaiti indicated that their “military operations” would continue until Israel lifts the siege on Gaza. He further suggested online that “American-British aggression” would only incite more violence in response.