WASHINGTON — The United States and the United Kingdom carried out strikes on a dozen military sites used by the Houthis in Yemen on Thursday night in response to the group's continued attacks on commercial cargo ships and tankers in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Gaza war.
US and UK combat aircraft, joined by US warships and at least one submarine fired more than 100 precision-guided munitions, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, starting around 2:30 a.m. local time Friday, suppressing air defenses by targeting radar systems, two US defense officials told Al-Monitor.
More than 60 targets, including facilities used by the Houthis to store and launch drones and cruise and ballistic missiles, were struck at 16 different locations, US Central Command said following the attacks.
The targets were chosen specifically to disrupt the Houthis' ability to continue attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea while minimizing risk to civilians, defense officials said. While a formal damage assessment remained underway, one US military official said the strikes had "significantly degraded" the Houthis' capabilities.
