US attacks Houthis in Yemen late Friday night
The U.S. Navy launched cruise missiles late Friday night against a radar site in Yemen used by Houthi militants to target commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea, according to U.S. Central Command.
The USS Carney, a guided missile destroyer, fired Tomahawk land attack missiles at the radar site a day after U.S. and British forces attacked 28 targets in Yemen. Those sites harbored radar installations, drones and anti-ship missiles.
The initial intelligence showed the first attacks had struck their targets, Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of the Joint staff, told reporters Friday. However, the Houthis did fire an anti-ship missile into the Red Sea after the attack.
The strikes represent a significant escalation of U.S. involvement in the Middle East amid Israel’s war in Gaza − and perhaps the most dangerous escalation of a conflict that threatens to metastasize across the region. Just a few days earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, kicked off his fourth urgent Mideast mission in three months, aimed at containing spillover from the ongoing conflict.
The Houthis, who control part of Yemen, have attacked busy shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden 28 times since late November. The Houthis maintain that the attacks are a response to Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
The attacks on commercial shipping have forced several major shipping lines, including Maersk, to divert ships traveling west to the longer, more expensive route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. In response, the Pentagon launched a multi-nation effort to protect the Red Sea, which shipping companies use to reach the Suez Canal.
But it was a Houthi attack Tuesday involving drones and missiles alarmed the Pentagon and triggered the recent U.S.-led attacks in Yemen.
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US attacks Houthi militants in Yemen
