US hits Yemen with MORE airstrikes as Houthi radar facility targeted days after joint action, official says
AMERICAN forces have carried out a second night of air strikes in Yemen after President Biden warned he would not hesitate to launch further attacks.
Strikes on Friday night targeted a radar facility used by the Houthis.
They were fired from a US Navy ship.
It is unclear exactly where the radar facility is located but the raids are understood to be on a much smaller scale than the previous night.
The bombardment was carried out solely by the United States and no other western allies.
The US Central Command said in a statement: “At 3:45 a.m. (Sana’a time) on Jan 13., U.S. forces conducted a strike against a Houthi radar site in Yemen.
“This strike was conducted by the USS Carney (DDG 64) using Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and was a follow-on action on a specific military target associated with strikes taken on Jan.
“12 designed to degrade the Houthi’s ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels.”
On Friday, Downing Street said Britain would not be conducting more raids against Houthi military targets following its joint-US operation on Thursday.
However, the US had warned of further military action if the Houthis continued to launch drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
On Friday, the Iranian-backed militia launched another missile towards a ship in the Gulf of Aden, south of Yemen.
It is thought the terror group – who control large swathes of Western Yemen – “mistakenly” fired the rocket at a tanker thinking it was a UK vessel.
The missile is thought to have landed in the Red Sea around 400-500 metres away from the Panama-flagged ship.
It was followed by three skiffs, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which last night received “multiple reports” of other small boats tailing ships elsewhere in the region.
The latest raids come just a day after the UK and US launched overnight strikes against Houthi military targets in nearly 30 locations.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave the green light for military action at an Emergency Cabinet meeting on Thursday evening following weeks of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
It comes as…
- Houthi rebels vow to get ‘unimaginable’ revenge on US and UK following Thursday’s strikes
- Dramatic footage shows the moment bombs rained down on targets
- Incredible firepower aimed at Houthi targets included Tomahawk missiles, Reaper drones and 1,200mph jets
- An ex-British army chief said the strikes were ‘necessary’ to remove threats to global trade
- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dubbed the strikes a ‘proportionate action in self-defence’
- President Joe Biden warned ‘he will not hesitate’ to launch further strikes to protect the free flow of commerce
- Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands backed the US-UK airstrikes
- The Houthi rebel group said five militants were killed and six injured
- Both Iran and Hezbollah have condemned the attacks as a ‘clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty’
Five militants were killed as more than 150 precision-guided munitions, launched by fighter jets and warships, blitzed 60 military targets including an airbase, airport and army camp.
US officials said they fired over 80 Tomahawk cruise missiles from three destroyers and a submarine while 22 jets took part in the strike from the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower.
Since November 19, there have been more than 27 attacks on Red Sea ships in what the Houthis say is a protest against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.