CNN —
The United States conducted a series of airstrikes in Yemen on Wednesday night against the Iranian-backed Houthis, targeting weapons storage facilities, including underground facilities, three U.S. defense officials said.
Officials said the facility housed state-of-the-art conventional weapons used to target warships and civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The attack was carried out by a B-2 Spirit bomber, one of the officials said, marking the first time since the start of the U.S. military operation that the U.S. has used a strategic stealth bomber to attack the Houthis in Yemen. The B-2 is a much larger platform and can carry much heavier bombs than fighter jets previously used to target Houthi facilities and weapons.
The attack on Iranian-backed proxies comes amid heightened tensions in the region. Israel is expected to retaliate for Iran’s recent missile attacks ahead of the Nov. 5 US election, and is also in conflict with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Gaza’s Hamas.
Wednesday’s airstrike (early Thursday local time) was the latest in a series of back-and-forth attacks by the Houthis and the United States, which has carried out sustained attacks on commercial shipping and naval assets in the region for months. . .
It also coincided with American military personnel beginning to arrive in Israel after the United States announced the deployment of an advanced anti-missile system to protect Israel from a barrage of Iranian missile attacks.
The United States has partnered with Britain in attacks against the Houthis in the past, but Wednesday’s attack was carried out by the United States alone.
Over the past year, the United States has repeatedly attacked or intercepted Houthi drones and missiles in an effort to protect ships and degrade Houthi weapons. However, attacks by Iranian-backed rebels continue.
In September, the Houthis claimed to have fired about 20 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at three U.S. destroyers. Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon spokeswoman, said “at no time” has a cruise missile or drone hit a U.S. ship.
“We can confirm that there was no damage or collision to any U.S. vessels. There were no injuries to U.S. military personnel. I have confirmed that,” Singh said. “My understanding is that they were either engaged and shot down, or they failed.”
Just earlier this month, Centcom announced that the United States had struck 15 Houthi targets in Yemen, including “Houthi offensive military capabilities.”
The Iranian-backed group said it carried out attacks in support of Hamas in Gaza and, more recently, Hezbollah in Lebanon. In September, the Houthis fired a missile deep into Israel, but the Israeli military assessed that the missile “likely broke into fragments in the air and fell into vacant land within the country,” causing no injuries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in September that the Houthis would pay a “heavy price” for the attack. Just days later, the Israel Defense Forces announced that it had targeted power plants and ports in airstrikes against the Houthis.
The Houthis have since launched further attacks against Israel, launching a drone on October 1st in support of Hezbollah, and launching two missiles and multiple drones into the country on October 7th. claimed to have done so.
Regarding the latter attack, the Israeli military announced that Israel had intercepted a surface-to-air missile fired from Yemen toward central Israel.
Continued attacks on commercial ships by the Houthis have resulted in the deaths of several seafarers and caused serious environmental problems. In August, a Greek-flagged vessel was attacked, causing a fire and oil leak. The Pentagon warned of a “potential environmental catastrophe” at the time.
The United States has significant firepower in the region, a capability it has maintained since Hamas invaded Israel last October. CNN reported this month that the thousands of U.S. troops include an aircraft carrier strike group, several additional guided missile destroyers, an amphibious readiness group with a maritime expeditionary force, and a wide range of aircraft, including fighters and attack aircraft. Ta.
This story has been updated with additional details.
