US Strikes Iran-Backed Houthis After Deadly Strikes In Region
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/BAGHDAD (Worthy News) – The United States hit Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen early Wednesday, destroying two anti-ship missiles that aimed at the Red Sea and were preparing to launch, the U.S. military said.
Wednesday’s attacks came after the U.S. also struck other Houthi sites as well as in Iraq, where several militants reportedly died.
“U.S. forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region,” the U.S. military’s Central Command added in a statement.
The U.S. air strikes took place at roughly 2:30 a.m. local time and are the latest hit against the Houthis over its targeting of Red Sea shipping, followed by a larger round of strikes a day earlier.
On Monday, the U.S. and Britain conducted a further round of strikes against the Houthis, marking the eighth time the U.S. military struck Houthi targets and the second time that Britain participated.
The Houthis, who control the most populated parts of Yemen, have said their attacks are “in solidarity with Palestinians” as Israel strikes Hamas in Gaza. However, Iran-backed militia, including Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas, will only stop when Israel is destroyed, experts say.
Elsewhere in the region, the U.S. carried out strikes in Iraq against three facilities linked to Iran-backed militia, the Pentagon said, after a weekend attack on an Iraqi airbase that wounded U.S. forces. Tuesday’s strikes killed at least two militants, and four people were injured, several sources said.
‘PROPORTIONATE STRIKES’
“U.S. military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq,” the U.S. defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a statement.
“These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against U.S. and Coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Austin added.
On Saturday, four US personnel suffered traumatic brain injuries after Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase was hit by multiple ballistic missiles and rockets fired by Iranian-backed militants from inside Iraq.
US troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked about 150 times by Iran-aligned groups since the Israel-Gaza war started in October, putting pressure on president Joe Biden to respond militarily despite political sensitivities in Baghdad.
The attacks against the United States are seen as retaliation for its support of Israel in its war against Hamas.
The U.S. has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq, advising and assisting local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large parts of both countries before being defeated.
However, with fighting rapidly escalating Wednesday into a broader international conflict, the Middle East remains a hotbed for trouble impacting the world.
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