Washington bombs sites in Yemen, and Al-Houthi threatens to expand his attacks “to an unexpected extent”

American forces launched several strikes on Houthi military sites in Yemen (French-Archive)

The US Central Command announced at dawn on Friday the destruction of 9 anti-ship ballistic missiles and two drones that the Houthis were about to launch from areas under their control in Yemen.

For his part, the leader of the Ansar Allah group (Houthis), Abdul Malik al-Houthi, vowed to expand the scope of attacks against Israeli ships and ships linked to Israel, “to an extent that the enemy does not expect,” and pledged to prevent ships linked to Israel from crossing from the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope.

The US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement that it destroyed these weapons after the Houthis fired 4 anti-ship ballistic missiles, two of which landed in the Gulf of Aden and the others in the Red Sea, without causing any damage.

The statement pointed out that US forces "succeeded in identifying and destroying 9 anti-ship missiles and two drones in the areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen."

As usual in its previous statements, Centcom stressed that it is taking “these measures to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters protected and safer for the US Navy and commercial ships.”

Yesterday evening, Thursday, the Houthi group announced a new American-British attack with 3 raids on the coastal governorate of Hodeidah, west of the country, bringing the total number of raids yesterday, Thursday, on the same governorate to 14 in one day.

The US military statement came after the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority (UKMTO) announced yesterday, Thursday, that it had received a report from a ship of an explosion near it off the coast of the Yemeni city of Aden, noting that the explosion did not cause injuries or damage.

The agency run by the British Royal Forces said in a statement that “a ship reported an explosion” near it while it was 50 nautical miles southeast of the city of Aden, located in southern Yemen.

A few days ago, a ship was bombed by Houthis in the Gulf of Aden (French)

Powerful arsenal

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Thursday that the Houthis still possess a powerful arsenal, noting that the strikes that have been ongoing for weeks have not undermined their military capabilities.

Singh added that Washington will continue to carry out strikes against the Houthis, stressing its confidence in continuing to weaken their capabilities.

She added that the Houthi group is still able to access weapons, capabilities and support from Iran, stressing the continuation of work to ensure the protection of commercial ships in the Red Sea.

For his part, the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said that what is happening in Yemen could affect the region.

Grundberg added during a briefing at the UN Security Council that he hoped to reach an agreement to stop the war in Gaza by the month of Ramadan, and called for the necessity of an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons in order to avoid the risk of the war in Gaza spreading to greater effects.

Leader of the Ansar Allah group, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi: If Muslims had seriously supported the resistance, the picture of the battle in Gaza would have been different, and some Arab regimes have not only failed the resistance, but are working to distort and criminalize it and are still arresting some for their support for it #News #Gaza_War pic.twitter.com/UTQhpuyFfi

- Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) March 14, 2024

Houthi feast

These developments came hours after the Houthi leader pledged, on Thursday evening, to prevent the crossing of ships linked to Israel from the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope. Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a recorded television speech that the Houthi operations that have been targeting ships in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Arabian Sea for months are in support of... The resistance in the Gaza Strip will continue and will extend to prevent ships linked to Israel from even passing through the Indian Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope.

He added that the military operations have reached an unprecedented extent, including 3 in the Indian Ocean, noting that 73 ships have been targeted since the beginning of the operations, including 12 ships this week.

He vowed to expand the scope of the attacks to "an extent that the enemy does not expect," saying that the Houthi operations this week were carried out using 58 ballistic missiles and drones.

The leader of the Houthi group announced that 34 members of the group had been killed since the start of operations targeting ships linked to Israel.

Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi condemned the continuation of the war on Gaza, and said that Israel was carrying out the “crime of the century” with the participation of the Americans and Western and Arab countries.

In response to the Houthi attacks, the United States and Britain, along with other countries, launched military operations against the Houthis under the name “Guardian of Prosperity.” Washington and London say that the air strikes aim to weaken the group’s ability to threaten maritime navigation in the Red Sea.

Several international shipping companies were forced to stop their operations in the Red Sea or divert their operations to avoid Houthi strikes.

In support of the Palestinian resistance in its response to the war on Gaza, the Houthi group has been targeting, since November 19, ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel. The group has expanded its attacks to include American and British ships following the start of the raids on Yemen in January. Second past.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies