U.S. forces in the Middle East carried out new strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen early Tuesday morning.
Central Command officials said U.S. troops struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
“These missiles were prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and presented an imminent threat to both merchant and U.S. Navy ships in the region,” according to a CENTCOM statement.
Hours later, the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile that hit the M/V Zografia, a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier. No injuries were reported in the attack.
Since mid-November 2023, the Houthis have carried out roughly 30 attacks on commercial vessels in the waterways off Yemen’s coasts, forcing commercial shipping companies to consider rerouting their cargo in a much longer path around the southern tip of South Africa.
The U.S. and its Western allies had issued frequent warnings but ultimately launched dozens of strikes Thursday for the first time. They hit more than 60 targets at 16 militant locations, targeting the Houthis’ capabilities to conduct these attacks. U.S. forces launched additional strikes on Friday.
“We believe by taking away some of their capability, degrading that capability … can have an impact on on the effectiveness of future strikes by taking away, degrading some of their capability, certainly makes it harder for them to conduct these strikes,” National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
U.S. officials correctly expected that the Houthis would respond, but they maintain that the strikes were successful.
“Initial indications are that we had good effects,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Friday. Another senior military official told reporters on Thursday night that the effects of the strikes were significant.
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The Houthis have said they are carrying out these attacks against commercial vessels in protest of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, though they have attacked vessels without ties to Israel.
U.S. leaders have said they want to avoid a regional conflict in the Middle East, as tensions have been heightened since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel and the Jewish state’s subsequent military response in Gaza.