US strikes take out Houthi radar site, weapons-production facility in Yemen

US strikes take out Houthi radar site, weapons-production facility in Yemen
by Mike Heuer
Washington DC (UPI) Dec 31, 2024

U.S. Navy ships and aircraft struck several Houthi targets in Yemen's capital city of Sana'a and coastal areas controlled by Houthis on Monday and Tuesday.

U.S. naval forces conducted multiple precision strikes against a Houthi command and control facility and advanced conventional weapons-production facilities that produced missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, Central Command officers said Tuesday in a press release.

Video footage shows U.S. Navy aircraft and missiles launching from vessels during the overnight hours to conduct the precision strikes.

Houthi militants have used the targeted facilities to conduct attacks on U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to the Central Command.

U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft destroyed a Houthi coastal radar site, seven cruise missiles and one-way attack UAVs over the Red Sea during the operation.

No U.S. personal were injured and no U.S. military equipment was damaged during the strikes.

The military operation is part of Central Command's efforts to weaken the ability of the Iran-supported Houthis to threaten regional partners of the United States, including Israel.

The operation also degrades the Houthis' ability to target military and commercial shipping in the region.

The Houthis on the morning of Dec. 21 struck a neighborhood in Tel Aviv-Jaffa with a missile that landed in an open area and caused minor injuries to 16 when the blast shattered windows on nearby buildings.

The Houthis on Dec. 22 also took credit for downing a U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter-bomber aircraft launched from the USS Harry S.Truman aircraft carrier over the Red Sea.

Although the Houthis said they shot down the aircraft, Central Command said the USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired upon and down the aircraft.

Both of the aircraft's crew members ejected and were recovered by the Navy, with one sustaining minor injuries from the friendly-fire incident.

Central Command said the aircraft and its aircrew participated in precision airstrikes on a Houthi missile storage facility and a Houthi command center on Dec. 22.

US strikes Huthi targets in Yemen capital, coast: CENTCOM
Washington (AFP) Dec 31, 2024 - The US military said Tuesday its forces had hit Huthi targets in Yemen's capital that the Iran-backed rebels used to attack American warships and commercial vessels.

The attacks began Monday and were carried out by US Navy ships and aircraft that also struck Huthi-controlled coastal regions of Yemen, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

It also said US Navy and Air Force aircraft had destroyed "seven cruise missiles and one-way attack UAVs over the Red Sea," using an acronym for unmanned aerial drones.

"There were no injuries or damage to US personnel or equipment in either incident," it said.

One witness in Yemen's Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa reported several strikes in different locations.

Another reported raids on Sanaa on the Defense Ministry and having heard a powerful explosion.

Huthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam called the strikes "an American aggression" and "a blatant violation of the sovereignty of an independent state and a blatant support for Israel."

The rebels said earlier Tuesday that they had fired two missiles at Israel, hours after the Israeli military said it had intercepted a projectile launched from the country.

The Huthis control much of war-torn Yemen and have been firing missiles and drones at Israel, and at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.