An American plane prepares to bomb a Houthi target in Yemen (French)
Yesterday, Friday, the US Army announced that it had destroyed 7 mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that the Houthis were preparing to launch at targets in the Red Sea, while CNN quoted US officials as saying that the administration of President Joe Biden is facing difficulty in how to increase pressure on the Houthis.
The US military said that it shot down 3 attack drones near commercial shipping ships in the Red Sea, and also destroyed 7 anti-ship cruise missiles stationed on the ground, adding that these targets “were self-defense,” as he put it.
The US Army reported that the day before yesterday, Thursday, it had struck four Houthi drones and two anti-ship cruise missiles, and explained that the weapons were prepared to be launched towards the Red Sea from areas in Yemen controlled by the Houthis.
The Biden administration is facing difficulty
In a related development, CNN quoted US officials as saying that the US administration is facing difficulty in how to increase pressure on the Houthis.
The channel added that the US administration believes that using force alone with the Houthis is ineffective, because continuing to launch missiles costing millions of dollars at Houthi marches and missiles is very costly and impractical.
According to American officials, the United States does not have a measure to estimate the percentage of Houthi weapons destroyed, but it is unclear whether Washington will change its military approach towards them.
American officials confirm that concern is growing within the Biden administration as Houthi attacks continue, despite the American strikes.
However, the US administration believes that the Houthis will keep their promise to stop attacks if Israel ends its war on the Gaza Strip, according to the network.
On February 16, the US classification of the Houthi group as an international “terrorist organization” came into effect in response to its attacks in the Red Sea, according to what the US State Department announced.
Since the beginning of this year, the Washington-led "Guardian of Prosperity" coalition has launched raids that it says target Houthi sites in various regions of Yemen, which has been met with a response from the group from time to time.
In solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which is facing Israeli aggression with American support, the Houthis targeted, with missiles and drones, Israeli cargo ships or those linked to them in the Red Sea, determined to continue their operations until the war on the Strip ends.
With the intervention of Washington and London and the tensions taking a noticeable escalation last January, the Houthi group announced that it was now counting all American and British ships among its military targets.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies