The United States carried out a second consecutive night of attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen, a US defense official said on Sunday.
Details about the types of weapons, targets or locations of the attacks were not clear, although there were reports of explosions in the provinces of Amran and Saada, north of the capital Sanaa, where the US has carried out strikes in the past.
On Saturday, the US used fighter jets to carry out a series of strikes against Houthi targets in at least three different locations, including facilities that the Iran-backed rebel group used to store advanced weapons. The weapons were used to target US warships and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Red Sea is a vital waterway that connects to the Suez Canal, through which 10% to 15% of world trade passes. Activities along the strait were effectively shut down amid continued attacks.
The Houthis, along with Hamas and Hezbollah, are part of an Iran-led alliance spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq, which has attacked Israel and its allies since the start of the war in Gaza. They say they will not stop attacking Israel and its allies until a ceasefire is reached in the Palestinian enclave.
The Houthi attacks come amid Yemen’s humanitarian crisis –– worsening since the 2014 civil war, when Houthi forces invaded the capital Sanaa and overthrew the internationally recognized government supported by Saudi Arabia.
The Arabian Peninsula nation, home to more than 34 million people, is plagued by severe food shortages, worsened by climate catastrophes.
Earlier this year, the country was hit by deadly floods that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned had worsened the situation for the 4.5 million Yemenis currently internally displaced and in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
The US has attacked Houthi targets in Yemen several times over the past 11 months. In mid-October, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stealthed B-2s for the first time. Those in the country’s long-range strike arsenal, capable of carrying a much larger payload than fighters.
The attack was authorized at the direction of President Joe Biden, Austin said, to “make clear to the Houthis that there will be consequences for their illegal and reckless attacks.”
A CNN reported last month that the US has strengthened its military posture in the region amid Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
U.S. forces in the region include an aircraft carrier strike group, several additional guided missile destroyers, an amphibious ready group, a Marine expeditionary unit, and a wide range of aircraft, including fighters and attack aircraft.
