US military carries out 4th attack on Houthis in a week

WASHINGTON: The US military fired another wave of ship- and submarine-launch missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites late on Wednesday, US Central Command said, marking the fourth time in days it has directly targeted the group in Yemen as violence that ignited in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war continues to spill over in the Middle East.

The strikes were launched from the Red Sea and hit 14 missiles that the command deemed an "imminent threat." The strikes followed an official announcement on Wednesday that the US has put the Houthis back on its list of specially designated global terrorists. The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing. "Forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen," Central Command said in a statement posted on X late Wednesday. "These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting US forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves."

Despite the sanctions and military strikes, including a one-way attack drone was launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen and struck the Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned and -operated M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden.


The US has also warned Iran to cease providing weapons to the Houthis. On Thursday a US raid on a dhow intercepted ballistic missile parts the US said Iran was shipping to Yemen. Two US Navy SEALs remain unaccounted for after one was knocked off the vessel by a wave during the seizure and the second followed the overcome SEAL into the water.