By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
SANAA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – U.S.-led forces struck the Hodeidah International Airport and other sites in Yemen as part of a crackdown on Houthis, who are designated as “terrorists” by the U.S. and allies, several sources confirmed Sunday.
Yemen’s state-run SABA news agency suggested that American and British fighter jets cooperated in the attacks. Those reports could not be verified independently, but an international U.S.-led coalition is active in the area.
The U.S. attacks underway since Thursday followed drone and missile strikes on shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden carried out by Houthis in “solidarity” with “suffering Palestinians” in Israel’s war in Gaza.
Houthis sunk two vessels seized another and killed at least three seafarers since it began attacking ships linked to Israel or its allies in November.
British security firm Ambrey said early Friday that a merchant vessel reported two explosions about 21 nautical miles (39 kilometers) west of Yemen’s port city of Mocha in apparently one of the latest Houthi strikes.
The vessel reported to Ambrey that one “missile” impacted the water and another exploded in the air, adding that both explosions occurred within 0.5 nautical miles of the vessel.
“The vessel was withholding its automatic identification system transmissions at the time. Ambrey is investigating the vessel’s affiliations with the Houthi target profile,” the Ambrey advisory added.
HOUTHI STRIKES
The Houthi strikes came while “U.S. British aircraft targeted Hodeidah International Airport with three raids,” on Friday, a security source told SABA news agency.
Authorities and residents said “American and British fighter jets” launched five raids on various “Ansarallah sites,” better known as Houthis, in the Ras Issa area.
The targets reportedly also included an oil berth affiliated with the port of Al-Salif, north of Hodeidah.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) did not confirm that British aircraft were involved. CENTCOM said its forces destroyed “five uncrewed vessels and three drones belonging to the Houthis in the Red Sea and in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.”
CENTCOM explained that these systems “presented a direct threat to US, coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region.”
Houthis leader Abdel al-Malik al-Houthi reportedly said in a speech on Thursday that “57 people have been killed and 87 wounded in 570 airstrikes carried out by the U.S. and U.K. against Yemen since the start of the Western campaign.” Those figures could not be verified.
Besides carrying out attacks, Yemen’s Houthis are reportedly trying to impose a naval blockade on all ships delivering goods to Israeli ports in the Red Sea, Arab Sea, Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean.
The standoff added to global security challenges facing U.S. President Joe Biden, who also tries “to lower” the political temperature at home following the assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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