The US military stated on Wednesday that its forces carried out attacks against 14 missiles that were loaded and ready to launch from Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen.
In a social media statement, US Central Command stated that the Houthi missiles posed a serious threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time.
The US attacked the Houthi missiles on January 17 at around 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa time). The strikes, according to US Central Command, would make it harder for the Houthi to carry out its reckless attacks on commercial and international ships in the Gulf of Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.
“The actions by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander. “We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners and we will always protect our people.”
The strikes came after the US said on Wednesday that the Houthis were back on its list of specially designated global terrorists. The sanctions that come with the official designation are intended to cut off violent extremist groups from their sources of financing.