US strikes Houthi anti-aircraft missile inside Yemen, official says
The strike is the first time the US has struck an anti-aircraft missile in Yemen
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A U.S. official tells Fox News the U.S. struck a Houthi anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile that was preparing to launch from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen Wednesday afternoon Yemen time.
This is the first time the U.S. has struck an anti-aircraft missile in Yemen and the 11th time the U.S. has carried out a strike against a Houthi target since Jan. 11.
The surface-to-air missile was on the ground and "posed an imminent threat" to U.S. aircraft patrolling the area, the U.S. official said. It was successfully destroyed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}F-18 fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower participated in air strikes on Houthi forces in Yemen on Jan. 22, 2023. The U.S. on Wednesday struck a Houthi anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile that was preparing to launch from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, a U.S. official tells Fox News. (CENTCOM/X)
YEMEN’S HOUTHIS FIRE MISSILE TOWARD USS CARNEY, CENTCOM SAYS
It was not immediately clear how the anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile was struck.
The strike comes after the Iran-backed Houthis, which the U.S. recently relisted as a terrorist group, fired a ballistic missile toward the USS Carney in the Gulf of Aden on Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The projectile was "successfully shot down" by the American destroyer and there were no reports of injuries, according to CENTCOM.
Houthi fighters stage a rally against the U.S. government near Sanaa, Yemen, on Thursday, Jan. 25. (AP/Osamah Abdulrahman)
The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea for weeks as a show of support for Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The attacks have seen ship volumes plummet in the area with 39% fewer vessels passing through the canal than at the start of December, leading to a 45% decline in freight tonnage.
The USS Carney travels through the Suez Canal on Oct. 18, 2023. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau/Reuters)
The strike also comes days after three U.S. service members were killed and at least 40 others were injured in a drone attack on an outpost in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border as tensions in the region escalate.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden on Tuesday indicated he had decided on how to respond after three U.S. soldiers were killed in a drone attack. The U.S. attributed the drone attack to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes the militant group Kataib Hezbollah.
Speaking to reporters at the White House before leaving for a campaign event in Florida on Tuesday, the president said yes when asked if he had decided on a response, but he did not offer any details.