On fourth day of strikes, the US navy says it focused 14 Houthi missiles that have been ‘loaded to be fired’ from Yemen.
America navy says its forces launched strikes on 14 Houthi missiles “that have been loaded to be fired” from Yemen within the fourth day of direct assaults on the Iran-aligned group in lower than per week.
The missiles posed a risk to business ships and US Navy vessels within the area, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on Wednesday.
The group, which controls most of Yemen and has been attacking ships within the area since November, stated it is not going to cease its strikes on delivery routes regardless of growing assaults by the US navy.
“We is not going to hand over focusing on Israeli ships or ships heading in the direction of ports in occupied Palestine … in help of the Palestinian folks,” the group’s spokesperson, Mohammed Abdelsalam, advised Al Jazeera on Thursday.
“These missiles on launch rails … might have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to train their inherent proper and obligation to defend themselves,” CENTCOM stated on X.
The strikes are supposed to degrade the Houthis’ “capabilities to proceed their reckless assaults on worldwide and business delivery within the Crimson Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden”, it added.
U.S. CENTCOM Strikes Houthi Terrorist Missile Launchers
Within the context of ongoing multi-national efforts to guard freedom of navigation and stop assaults on U.S. and companion maritime site visitors within the Crimson Sea, on Jan. 17 at roughly 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central… pic.twitter.com/MMCQbzr1f7
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 18, 2024
The Houthi-controlled Saba information company stated the US and the UK launched the strikes within the provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Dhamar, al-Bayda and Saada in a single day. Nevertheless, CENTCOM didn’t point out any involvement of the UK within the newest assaults.
“It’s an open conflict, and so they should endure the earth-shattering, highly effective, and crushing strikes and responses, God prepared,” Houthi official Ali al-Qahoum wrote on X after the newest strikes.
The US on Wednesday redesignated the Yemeni group as a “terrorist” organisation in response to its persevering with assaults and threats to delivery and imposed sanctions on it. The designation doesn’t go into impact for 30 days.
The Houthis stated the designation is not going to have an effect on its operations to stop Israeli ships or vessels heading to Israel from crossing the Crimson Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Rights advocates and analysts say the US transfer might negatively have an effect on Yemeni civilians.
The Houthis, who help the Palestinian armed group Hamas, launched their assaults in response to Israel’s conflict on Gaza. Their strikes have slowed commerce between Asia and Europe and alarmed main world powers.
Earlier on Wednesday, CENTCOM stated a drone launched from areas managed by the Houthi rebels in Yemen struck the US-owned ship Genco Picardy within the Gulf of Aden. It inflicted some harm, however no accidents, it stated.
