America Strikes Houthis Again After Warning Ships To Avoid Parts of Red Sea

Asked what message the American strikes send to Iran, President Biden says, ‘We delivered it privately and we’re confident we’re well prepared.’

U.S. Navy via AP
United States Ship Carney in the Mediterranean Sea in 2018. U.S. Navy via AP

WASHINGTON — The American military early Saturday struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk, a day after America and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels.

Associated Press journalists at Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, heard one loud explosion.

America’s Central Command said the “follow-on action” early Saturday local time against a Houthi radar site was conducted by the Navy destroyer, United States Ship Carney, using Tomahawk land attack missiles.

The first day of strikes Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets. President Biden had warned Friday that the Iranian-backed Houthis could face further strikes.

Mr. Biden was asked on Saturday, as he left the White House to spend the weekend at Camp David, about the message sent to Iran from the American strikes against the Houthis: “We delivered it privately and we’re confident we’re well prepared,” he told reporters.

The latest strike came after the U.S. Navy on Friday warned American-flagged vessels to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for the next 72 hours after the initial airstrikes.

The warning came as Yemen’s Houthis vowed retaliation, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel’s war in Gaza.

Americanmilitary and White House officials said they expected the Houthis to try to strike back.

The American-led bombardment came in response to a recent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the vital Red Sea. It killed at least five people and wounded six, the Houthis said.

America said the strikes, in two waves, took aim at targets in 28 different locations across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

“We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior along with our allies,” Mr. Biden had told reporters Friday. He also pushed back against some lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, who said he should have sought congressional authorization before carrying out the strikes.

“They’re wrong, and I sent up this morning when the strikes occurred exactly what happened,” Mr. Biden said.

The Pentagon said Secretary Austin ordered the military action from the hospital where he is recovering from complications following prostate cancer surgery.


The New York Sun

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