Photo: Collected
The United States launched fresh strikes against Yemen's Huthis Thursday (18 January) and President Joe Biden signaled they would keep going until the Iranian-backed rebels stop targeting ships in the Red Sea.
The latest US attacks hit two anti-ship missiles that the Huthis -- who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza -- were preparing to fire into the busy shipping corridor, the US military said.
US forces have launched several rounds of air strikes against the Huthis, since an initial barrage by the United States and Britain last Friday (19 January), adding to tensions in the Middle East.
Biden, who is seeking reelection in November, admitted that the Western strikes had not yet succeeded in preventing attacks by the Huthis on international shipping.
"When you say 'working, are they stopping the Huthi?' No. Are they going to continue? Yes," Biden told reporters at the White House when asked if the strikes were working.
The White House announced the latest attacks minutes after Biden spoke.
"We did it again this morning, striking at... a couple of anti-ship missiles that we had reason to believe were being prepared for imminent fire into the southern Red Sea," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the missiles in a Huthi-controlled area of Yemen posed an "imminent threat" to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region.
"US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missiles in self-defense," it said in a statement.
The strike came a day after Washington re-designated the Huthis as a "terrorist group" on Wednesday (17 January) and carried out strikes on 14 Huthi missiles.
Messenger/Sun Yath
