Washington: Tensions between the US and Yemen’s Houthi rebels sharply escalated after US airstrikes battered Houthi positions on Saturday. A day later, the Houthis said they had staged a retaliatory action against the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and warships accompanying it in the Red Sea. In its attack, the rebels claimed they fired a total of 18 ballistic and cruise missiles. But US Central Command has not confirmed the attack, and it was not immediately clear whether the missiles hit their targets.
Houthi Colonel Yahya Saree called the strike a sanction for the unproductive airstrikes the US carried out Monday on Houthi-held sections in the capitals of Sanaa and Saada provinces with more than 47 airstrikes. And, the group cautioned that White House had indicated that ”further U.S. aggressions” would be met with continued attacks on American warships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.
American airstrikes were launched after the Houthis launched numerous protests against business vessels in the Red Sea, which resulted in the consequential sinking of several ships. Washington has vowed to ramp up military action against the rebels in order to ensure another attack does not take place.
The Houthis have associated their offensive with Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, threatening to continue their strikes until Israeli aggression stops. Even though the group halted hostilities after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on 19 January, it has since announced a massive revival of the targeting of Israeli vessels, further threatening regional stability.
US senator Marco Rubio later condemned the Houthi actions, saying, “WE CANNOT LET THE HOUTHIS DECIDE WHAT SHIPS CAN SAIL THE RED SEA. We will conduct operations against them until such time that they are no longer able to threaten US vessels. He made clear that the Biden administration’s new strategy in the US would be different from before, taking a harder line with the rebels.