US Navy strikes radar sites in Yemen after Iran-backed Houthi militants launch failed missile strikes
The US military launched cruise missile strikes on three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, retaliating after failed missile attacks this week on a US Navy destroyer, US officials said on Wednesday.
The strikes authorized by President Barack Obama represent Washington's first direct military action against Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen's conflict. The Pentagon said initial US assessments indicated the radar sites were destroyed.
"These limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships, and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. "The United States will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic, as appropriate."
Two times in the last four days the USS Mason, a guided missile destroyer, fired interceptor missiles in self-defense after detecting incoming missiles launched from the territory held by Iranian-backed Houthi militants. The incidents occurred in the Bab al-Mandab Strait between Yemen and Eritrea with no damage or injuries to the US Navy.
The Houthis, a militant uprising against the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi, denied previous attempts on the USS Mason, but had taken credit for a similar missile strike that savaged a former US Navy ship operated by the United Arab Emirates.
The direct strike against the Houthis makes the US a participant in the conflict in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has led a brutal air campaign linked to high civillian deaths and potentially war crimes.
Reuters previously reported that the US had worried that direct involvement in the conflict on Saudi Arabia's behalf could make them liable to be tried for possible war crimes committed during the 18 month conflict.
Simultaneously, the US had been trying to manage a fragile relationship with Iran, after the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to ensure Iran would not become a nuclear state for a decade.
Iran backs the Houthi militants, has provided them with arms, and openly provoked the US Navy before in international waters.