Pentagon Reports Attacks on Iranian-Backed Houthi Targets

The Pentagon confirmed that U.S. warplanes targeted advanced weapon depots of Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen during multiple strikes on Saturday night. An American defense official told AFP that these weapons were used to attack military and civilian ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. According to AFP, the Houthi-controlled TV network 'Al-Masirah' reported three American and British strikes targeting the 'Al-Sabain' area south of Sana'a. Al-Masirah stated: 'Eyewitnesses reported hearing loud aircraft sounds accompanied by explosions in various parts of the capital, Sana'a.' The United States and Britain have repeatedly targeted Houthi positions in Yemen since January in response to attacks by Iranian-backed rebels on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis claim these attacks, which have disrupted maritime traffic in a major global waterway and allegedly target 'Israel-related ships,' are aimed at 'showing solidarity with the Palestinians' during the Gaza war. These attacks have severely disrupted the Red Sea route, which accounts for 12% of global trade. In over 100 Houthi attacks in the past year, four sailors have been killed and two ships sunk, while one ship and its crew have remained captive since being hijacked last November. Saturday's attacks occurred three days after Abdulmalik al-Houthi, the Houthi leader, criticized U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for supporting Israel. The Houthi leader stated that normalization agreements between Arab countries and Israel, brokered by Trump, failed to end the Middle East conflict and that he would fail again in his second term. Previously, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces had targeted advanced weapon storage facilities of Iranian-backed Houthis in areas controlled by the group in Yemen during several precision airstrikes on Wednesday, October 25. In the previous operation, the U.S. Air Force and Navy used B-2 bombers to attack underground Houthi depots, destroying these facilities and the weapons within them. The underground facilities targeted by the U.S. military contained various missiles, weapon manufacturing parts, and other stored munitions. CENTCOM also emphasized that these attacks aimed to reduce the Houthis' ability to conduct attacks on international commercial vessels and to diminish their threat to U.S. military and commercial personnel and ships in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden. Houthi militants in Yemen, supported by the Islamic Republic, have conducted multiple attacks on international ships off the Yemeni coast in the Red Sea since last November in support of Hamas, another Iranian-backed group, in its war against Israel, disrupting international maritime trade.