A U.S. airstrike Dec. 16, 2024, took out an attack hub in Yemen used by Houthi militants to fire on ships in Middle East waters, U.S. Central Command said. (U.S. Central Command)
U.S. forces in the Middle East launched an airstrike this week against a Houthi militant facility in Yemen that facilitated the Iran-backed group’s armed assaults on shipping in the region, U.S. Central Command said.
Monday’s strike targeted “a hub for coordinating Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said in a statement the same day.
The statement didn’t identify the specific forces used in the strike, but the Pentagon has beefed up its presence in the region with additional Air Force bombers, fighter jets and refueling aircraft.
In November, a series of U.S. airstrikes against Houthi militants targeted weapons bunkers in Yemen. Those strikes included Air Force and Navy assets, such as F-35C stealth fighter jets.
Monday’s action came on the heels of entrance into the Red Sea on Saturday by the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. The group is made up of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, the destroyers USS Stout and USS Jason Dunham and the cruiser USS Gettysburg. It also includes Carrier Air Wing 1 with nine embarked aviation squadrons, CENTCOM said.
Truman’s arrival in the Middle East follows the departure of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which left the region about a month ago.
Houthi militants have conducted at least two attacks on Navy ships in the Gulf of Aden this month.
In both instances, the destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane were escorting U.S.-flagged and U.S.-owned merchant vessels when they came under attack from Houthi drones and missiles.
Both attacks were defeated and neither caused any injuries or damage to the vessels.
There have been at least 111 reported incidents involving ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since the Houthis began their campaign in November 2023, according to Joint Maritime Information Center data.
The Houthis have said they will continue attacking ships connected to Israel until there is a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, which began with Hamas’ armed incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
U.S. officials have pointed out that the group has fired indiscriminately on military and civilian ships with no apparent Israeli connection.
