Aden, Jan 8: US warplanes carried out seven airstrikes on military sites held by the Houthi group in northern Yemen on Wednesday, a military official of the Yemeni government forces told Xinhua news agency.
The official said on condition of anonymity that the strikes targetted key military locations in the Harf Sufyan district of Amran province and Jarban area in Sanhan district, south of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the official said.
He provided no details regarding casualties or the scale of damage caused by the airstrikes. According to the source, some of the targeted sites are believed to be underground weapons storage facilities used by the Houthi group.
Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the strikes in a statement posted on X, saying, “CENTCOM forces conducted multiple precision strikes against two Iranian-backed Houthi underground Advanced Conventional Weapon (ACW) storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen, Jan. 8.”
The statement added that the Houthi group used these facilities to carry out attacks on US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. There has been no immediate comment from the Houthi group regarding the strikes.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have been carrying out rocket and drone attacks on Israeli cities and disrupting “Israeli-linked” shipping in the Red Sea. In response, the US-led navy coalition stationed in the area has been conducting regular air raids on Houthi targets since January 2024 in a bid to deter the armed group.
The Houthi group said in a statement on Tuesday that it had targeted the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the northern Red Sea with two winged missiles and four drones, as well as sites in Israel.
The group “carried out a qualitative military operation… while the American enemy was preparing to launch a major air attack on Yemen,” which had “failed” thanks to its operation, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
According to Sarea, Houthis also carried out attacks on Israeli sites, targeting with drones two military targets in Israel’s Tel Aviv city, and a “vital target” in Israel’s Ashkelon city. “We will continue our operations in support of the Palestinian resistance, and these operations will not stop until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted,” he added.
The Houthi statement had come simultaneously with the arrival of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, which marked his first visit in more than a year and a half as part of efforts to push forward the stalled peace process.
IANS