The United States has carried out more strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen, according to a US official, a day after launching a coordinated multi-country attack on nearly 30 Houthi positions.
Additional strikes carried out Friday night (Eastern time) were much smaller in scope than the previous night. The official said they targeted a radar facility used by the Houthis.
The Houthis had fired at least one anti-ship ballistic missile towards a commercial ship earlier on Friday.
On Thursday, the US and UK bombed 28 separate Houthi sites in an attempt to disrupt their ability to fire on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. The two countries also received the support of Canada, Australia, Bahrain and the Netherlands.
The official said that the latest strike was carried out by the United States unilaterally.
The United States threatened the possibility of additional military action if the Houthis continued to launch drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
“We will make sure to respond to the Houthis if they continue this terrible behavior with our allies,” US President Joe Biden said on Friday while in Pennsylvania.
But after the US-led strikes, the Iran-backed rebel group fired another anti-ship ballistic missile towards a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden in southern Yemen.
The new strikes also come after the White House said it was trying to avoid escalation.
“Everything we’re doing, all we’re trying to do is prevent any further escalation,” John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, told CNN on Friday.
The group of US-led strikes on Thursday evening targeted radar facilities and command and control nodes, as well as facilities used to store and launch drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. These are the primary weapons used by the Houthis to target commercial ships in the Red Sea. The attacks resulted in the death of five people and the injury of six others, according to a Houthi army spokesman.
The Houthis pledged that their forces would respond to the attack, and described American and British assets as “legitimate targets.”
Read more: The United States carried out more strikes against the Houthis in Yemen one day after striking nearly 30 sites.
