The United States military said it conducted airstrikes in Yemen against targets linked to the Iran-backed Houthi group. Austin said Wednesday that U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers conducted “precision strikes” against five underground weapons storage sites. These, he added, are “hardened, originally built for the Soviet Union and heavily fortified,” and used by Houthis to store components of weapons targeting both civilian and military vessels.
This operation demonstrates the ability of the United States to strike facilities that adversaries try to hide, no matter how deep or how well fortified,” Austin said. He added that flying the B-2 Spirit bombers in theater shows that U.S. global strike capabilities can hold any target at risk anytime and anywhere.
The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV aired footage of airstrikes around Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and their stronghold of Saada, but no immediate word on damage or casualties was available. Over the last months- starting from November, the Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, reportedly linked to Israel as an act of solidarity with Palestinians over clashes in Gaza that have killed more than 42,000 people so far.
In a recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, the Houthis called for Israel to “stop its aggression against Lebanon.” Last month, the group claimed to have carried out a spate of missile and drone attacks on Israeli cities and U.S. Navy warships.
These strikes come a day after the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned that the country risks being further dragged into the escalating military conflict in the Middle East, stating that hopes for peace seem increasingly distant as regional tensions rise.
