The United States fires bombs at Yemen

by TMO Staff

The United States military has fired airstrikes on alleged storage weapons by Houthis in Yemen. The Pentagon made the announcement on Wednesday. B-2 stealth bombers were among the weapons utilized during the airstrike.

The US believes Houthis have used weapons to target local civilians and overall military vessels across the country. President Biden was in charge of the authorized strikes toward Yemen.

The United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that it was part of an operation to conduct precision strikes on nearly five weapon storage facilities located underground.

Austin released a public statement saying that US forces were targeting several underground storage units run allegedly by Houthis.

The US has sent several airstrikes targeting the Houthi group. The targeting airstrikes toward the country of Yemen could be dated back to 2023. Previously, drone attacks and missile strikes were conducted on alleged vessels in the region of the Red Sea. It was originally in response to the Gaza-Israel war.

The US has continued to be a major supporter of Israel during the war and has protected the area with various weapons and dollars sent overseas.

“U.S. military forces—together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands—successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” Biden said in a statement.

The US also claims that the Houthis attacked an Israeli cargo ship last year. Then, they took several of the crew members hostage at that time. The tension escalated after drone attacks done previously between Israel and Yemen.

“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sed,” Biden said in a statement. “including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history. These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation. More than 50 nations have been affected in 27 attacks on international commercial shipping. Crews from more than 20 countries have been threatened or taken hostage in acts of piracy.”

His statement continued:

“More than 2,000 ships have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea—which can cause weeks of delays in product shipping times. And on January 9, Houthis launched their largest attack to date—directly targeting American ships.”

Biden continued to designated Houthis as a global terrorist group adding:

“The United States launched Operation Prosperity Guardian—a coalition of more than 20 nations committed to defending international shipping and deterring Houthi attacks in the Red Sea,” Biden said in a statement. “We also joined more than 40 nations in condemning Houthi threats. Last week, together with 13 allies and partners, we issued an unequivocal warning that Houthi rebels would bear the consequences if their attacks did not cease. And yesterday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding the Houthis end attacks on merchant and commercial vessels.”

The ongoing tension continues overseas.