US forces have carried out an attack on a Houthi radar facility in Yemen just a day after widespread attacks against the militant group, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
“On January 13 at 3:45 a.m. (Sanaa time), US forces carried out an attack on a Houthi radar facility in Yemen,” the command said on its account on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This attack was conducted by the USS Carney (DDG 64) with Tomahawk land-attack missiles and was a follow-up action against a specific military target in connection with the January 12 attacks, which were intended to impair the Houthis' ability to attack maritime vessels .” CENTCOM stated in the same release.
Unlike the previous operation, which also involved the United Kingdom, this one was carried out only by the United States.
“These attacks are unrelated and independent of 'Operation Prosperity Guardian,' a defense coalition of more than 20 countries operating in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden,” Xs said Contribution.
The attacks are a military response to a series of missile and drone attacks by the Houthis on commercial and military vessels transiting the Red Sea. These “illegal incidents” include attacks using anti-ship ballistic missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles, according to US Central Command.
Earlier Friday, President Joe Biden said he believes the Houthis are a terrorist organization, although he said officially labeling the group as such would not change anything. Biden has called an official designation “irrelevant” because he “brought together a group of nations to say that if they continue to act and behave the way they are doing, we will respond.”
In recent weeks, the Houthi rebels have carried out several attacks on boats in the Red Sea in an alleged show of support for the Palestinian population, victims of a bloody Israeli military campaign that has already claimed more than 23,700 victims and was launched after attacks by the Islamic Resistance movement (Hamas) on October 7th. In response, the US and UK launched a series of attacks on Yemen in the early hours of Friday, which the Houthis said left at least five people dead.
The Iran-backed Houthis have controlled Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and other areas in the north and west of the country since 2015. Following Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip due to the events of October 7, they responded with attacks on ships with any connection to Israel.