WASHINGTON: US forces on Thursday conducted a fifth strike against Iranian-backed Houthi sites in Yemen as President Joe Biden acknowledged that American and British bombardment had yet to stop the militants’ attacks on vessels in the Red Sea that have disrupted global shipping.
The latest strikes destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles that “were aimed into the southern Red Sea and prepared to launch,” US Central Command said. They were conducted by navy F/A-18 fighter aircraft, the Pentagon said.
Biden said the US would continue the strikes, even though so far they have not stopped the Houthis from continuing to harass commercial and military vessels. “When you say working, are they stopping Houthis, no. Are they going to continue, yes,” he said.
Hours after Biden spoke, Houthi Brig Gen Yahya Saree said in a pre-recorded statement that its forces had carried out another missile attack against the Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned cargo ship Chem Ranger. Saree said the attack took place in the Gulf of Aden. That attack did not affect the ship, Central Command said Thursday.
Some shipping firms are avoiding the waters near Yemen but senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti insisted it was safe so long as vessels were not linked to Israel. “As for all other countries, including Russia and China, their shipping in the region is not threatened,” he told Russian outlet Izvestia. Separately, spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam, who is also the chief Houthi negotiator in peace talks over the country’s decade-old civil war, told Reuters that the group had no plans to target longstanding foes Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “We don’t want the escalation to expand,” he said. He, however, said the militia would retaliate against the US and Britain for the air strikes.
The latest strikes destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles that “were aimed into the southern Red Sea and prepared to launch,” US Central Command said. They were conducted by navy F/A-18 fighter aircraft, the Pentagon said.
Biden said the US would continue the strikes, even though so far they have not stopped the Houthis from continuing to harass commercial and military vessels. “When you say working, are they stopping Houthis, no. Are they going to continue, yes,” he said.
Hours after Biden spoke, Houthi Brig Gen Yahya Saree said in a pre-recorded statement that its forces had carried out another missile attack against the Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned cargo ship Chem Ranger. Saree said the attack took place in the Gulf of Aden. That attack did not affect the ship, Central Command said Thursday.
Some shipping firms are avoiding the waters near Yemen but senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti insisted it was safe so long as vessels were not linked to Israel. “As for all other countries, including Russia and China, their shipping in the region is not threatened,” he told Russian outlet Izvestia. Separately, spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam, who is also the chief Houthi negotiator in peace talks over the country’s decade-old civil war, told Reuters that the group had no plans to target longstanding foes Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “We don’t want the escalation to expand,” he said. He, however, said the militia would retaliate against the US and Britain for the air strikes.