U.S. Central Command X via Reuters
The U.S. military unleashed a new wave of strikes early Wednesday targeting the missiles of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen just hours after a separate American operation struck facilities in Iraq linked to groups which injured U.S. troops over the weekend, the Pentagon said.
The strikes in Yemen at 2:30 a.m. local time are just the latest attempt to deter the rebels from disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have vowed to continue attacking vessels until Israel ends its war against Hamas in Gaza.
In a statement, the Pentagon’s Central Command said the U.S. operation early Wednesday was against “two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed into the Southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch.” The missiles were deemed to present an “imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region,” the statement added, claiming the missiles were therefore destroyed in “self-defense.”