The US carried out further strikes against Houthi locations in Yemen, according to a US official, one day after launching a coordinated multi-nation attack on nearly 30 Houthi positions.
The additional strikes carried out Friday night (Eastern Time) were much smaller in scope than the previous night. They targeted a radar facility used by the Houthis, the official said.
The Houthis had fired at least one anti-ship ballistic missile towards a commercial vessel earlier Friday.
On Thursday, the US and UK struck 28 separate Houthi sites in an attempt to disrupt their ability to fire upon international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. The two countries were also backed by Canada, Australia, Bahrain, and the Netherlands.
The latest strike was carried out unilaterally by the United States, the official said.
The US had threatened the possibility of additional military action if the Houthis continued to launch drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
“We will make sure we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior along with our allies,” US President Joe Biden said Friday while in Pennsylvania.
But after the US-led strikes, the Iran-backed rebel group launched another anti-ship ballistic missile towards a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden, south of Yemen.
The new strikes also come after the White House said it was trying to avoid an escalation.
“Everything we’re doing, everything we’re trying to do is to prevent any further escalation,” John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, told CNN Friday.
The set of US-led strikes on Thursday evening targeted radar facilities and command and control nodes, as well as facilities used for the storage and launch of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. These are the primary weapons the Houthis have used to target commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The attacks killed five people and wounded six more, according to a spokesman for the Houthi military.
The Houthis vowed that their forces would respond to the attack, calling US and UK assets “legitimate targets.”
READ MORE: US carries out further strikes against Houthis in Yemen one day after hitting nearly 30 locations
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