US announces further strikes on Yemen
The USS Carney destroyer has fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Houthi radar station in Yemen, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said, confirming reports in the media.
The strikes occurred at 3:45 am local time and were “a follow-on action” to the US and UK bombardment of the previous night.
Yemeni TV station Al-Masirah said the missiles targeted the capital, Sanaa.
The US and Britain previously carried out “defensive” airstrikes and launched cruise missiles at Yemen with the aim of deterring the Houthis – a Shia Islamist group that controls part of the country, including Sanaa and the key port city of Hodeidah – from disrupting shipping in the vital Red Sea waterway.
The Houthis have pledged solidarity with the Palestinians and vowed not to stop attacking merchant vessels until Israel ends its war with Hamas, which erupted on October 7. More than 50 countries have since been affected in 27 Houthi attacks on ships, according to the White House.
Houthi military leader Mahdi al-Mashat reiterated on Friday that the group would continue to attack Israel-linked ships “until the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians” ends. The Houthis have fired at least one ballistic missile into the Red Sea since the initial US-UK barrage, according to Washington.
In a statement released on Thursday, Biden vowed to authorize “further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce” if necessary.
