US sends 2nd round of strikes on Saturday to Yemen’s Houthis

US destroys Houthi anti-ship missiles in Yemen

U.S. forces launched additional strikes against Houthi anti-ship missiles prepared to launch against vessels in the Red Sea, officials said. In the past 24 hours, the U.S. has launched airstrikes in three different countries in the Middle East.

The United States sent a second wave of strikes Saturday, in operation with Britain, meant to further disable Iran-backed groups that have relentlessly attacked American and international interests in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

The attack hit 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, anonymous U.S. officials told The Associated Press, and were sent across 13 different locations.

The strikes follow an air assault in Iraq and Syria on Friday that targeted other Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend.

The U.S. had warned that its response after the soldiers’ deaths at the Tower 22 base would not be limited to one night, one target or one group.

The Defense Department said the strikes targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems and radars.

Houthi fighters participating in a rally and parade against the America-Britain airstrikes and in solidarity with people in the Gaza Strip, on January 28, 2024, near Sanaa, Yemen. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the Houthis had been conducting almost daily missile or drone attacks against commercial and military ships transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Saturday’s strikes marked the third time the U.S. and Britain had conducted a large joint operation to strike Houthi weapon launchers, radar sites and drones.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.