On Jan. 13, 2024, the U.S. launched an airstrike against Houthi terrorists in Yemen following a series of attacks in the Red Sea.
Houthi terrorists have repeatedly launched attacks on international merchant vessels in the Red Sea, prompting the U.S. to retaliate by striking dozens of the terrorists in Yemen.
The U.S.’s latest strike in Yemen hit a radar site that the Houthis used to target the merchant vessels in the Red Sea. Over 73 targets at 16 locations were hit during the first round of strikes, according to the Daily Wire.
First video coming in from US, UK strikes against Houthis in Yemen. pic.twitter.com/CsTpXeimHV
— FJ (@Natsecjeff) January 12, 2024
The Biden administration felt that to avoid Iran possibly joining the fray in the attacks, they must allow the Houthi terrorists to flee before attacking. Just five Houthis were killed and several others injured in the U.S.’s airstrike operation.
President Joe Biden did not order any attacks on the Iranian spy ship that has been lurking in the Red Sea to help the Houthis target merchant ships.
In a statement, the president said the U.S. “will not tolerate” the Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea, adding that the recent airstrikes against the Iranian-backed terrorists were only conducted after diplomatic negotiations and careful thought.
“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history,” Biden said.
The director of operations for the Joint Staff, Army Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, recently said that the U.S. military was still assessing its attack of various targets that were hit during the first round of airstrikes and indicated that they were “very confident about where our munitions struck.”
“We know precisely the capability that the Houthis have been enjoying against the Red Sea and the Bab al Mandab,” Sims claimed. “This was solely designed to get after the capability that is impeding international freedom of navigation in international waters. We feel pretty confident we did good work on that.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who was secretly hospitalized in recent weeks and later diagnosed with prostate cancer, said the purpose of the strikes was to “degrade the Houthis’ capabilities to endanger mariners and threaten global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways.”
