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If unchecked, moreover, Houthi missile activity could inadvertently widen the conflict, possibly pulling in the United States or bringing the United States into direct conflict with Iran. Mitigating the Houthi missile threat, as such, will be a necessary component of any lasting peace. As part of that conflict, the Houthis have launched missiles and drones deep into Saudi Arabia, but it appears that the missiles intercepted on Thursday were not aimed at targets inside Saudi Arabia. "We cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting but they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea potentially to targets in Israel," said Ryder who added that information about the engagements was still being processed. The Iran-aligned militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles at international commercial shipping in the region since November, in what they say is in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military assault in Gaza.
Mapping Israel-Lebanon attacks
So, it appears that the Houthis have yet to fully delve into their varied arsenal of projectiles, which also includes a host of anti-ship missiles. As Israeli strikes continue to pound Gaza and kill civilians, Iran has repeatedly warned that if they don’t stop, “new fronts” could be opened in the war by the “resistance axis” – a network of political and armed groups aligned to Iran. "Because if the Houthis shoot at a U.S. ship there will be little doubt that it would have been at Tehran’s direction." Al Asad airbase in western Iraq experienced indirect fire on Thursday according to a U.S. official.
Quds cruise missile
Missile fire strikes a ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, UK military says - PBS NewsHour
Missile fire strikes a ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, UK military says.
Posted: Mon, 15 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Tehran backs the Houthis in Yemen, Shia armed groups in Iraq, the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon and various Palestinian factions. The Houthis, a Shiite rebel group allied with Iran that seized Yemen’s capital in 2014, did not immediately acknowledge the attack. Satellite-tracking data analyzed by the AP showed the Eagle Gibraltar had been bound for the Suez Canal, but rapidly turned around at the time of the attack. “The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey,” Central Command said. A flurry of incidents underscored the heightened risks that the conflict between Israel and Hamas could spiral into a wider war. The risk to U.S. forces and U.S. interests in the region has increased particularly in the wake of a deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza earlier this week that inflamed regional tensions.
USS Carney Intercepts 3 Land-Attack Cruise Missiles (Navy Times)
But the footage appeared to show that the Houthis used a variant of their Zolfaghar mid-range ballistic missile, the Quds cruise missile and the Samad drone. Shouts of “death to Israel” and “death to America” can be heard as ballistic missiles are launched into the atmosphere. The Houthis, who have a history of proudly displaying their latest military achievements and had a major parade in late September, released a video of launching many missiles and drones after their initial announcement. The Houthi movement, also known as Ansarallah, has been in control of large parts of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, since late 2014.
Yemen Houthi rebels fire a missile at a US warship, escalating worst Mideast sea conflict in decades
The U.S. has tried to temper its descriptions of the Houthis’ strikes, and said it is difficult to determine what exactly the Houthis are trying to hit in part try to prevent the conflict from becoming a wider regional war. The Carney attack represents the first time the Houthis directly targeted a U.S. warship since the rebels began their assaults on shipping in October, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity because no authorization had been given to discuss the incident. He said if the conflict escalates into a regional war and Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups fully join in, the Houthis will most likely keep launching missiles and drones at Israel. For the first time since the outbreak of the war with Hamas, Israel used its “Arrow” defence system which is designed to take out ballistic missiles outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, according to its military.
On Wednesday, three drones were shot down by U.S. military forces as they neared bases in western and northern Iraq, another drone was shot down near U.S. forces in eastern Syria on Thursday. The Department of Defense provides the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security. Cook said the U.S. strikes were launched from the USS Nitze, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the Gulf of Aden. But many of the attacks have been on simple cargo ships passing through the area, forcing firms to take longer and more expensive journeys through Africa.
US Conducts Strikes in Yemen as Houthi Attacks Against International Shipping Continue (CENTCOM)
The efforts, though, have only seemed to inflame the terrorist group — which now says it will expand its targeting of ships to those passing through the Indian Ocean as it starts training for a possible US-UK invasion, The Sun reported. No damage or injuries were reported, and Israeli forces say the missile was tracked by the Air Force throughout the incident. The president is currently en route to Los Angeles, where he's expected to participate in campaign fundraisers. The senior administration official stressed that the US does not want escalation, and that the strikes are in direct response to the actions by the Iranian-backed Houthis. US President Joe Biden gave the green light for Saturday's strikes earlier in the week, according to two senior administration officials. The IDF acknowledged that “a number of launches” were identified crossing from Lebanon to northern Israel, but said no injuries were reported and that it struck the sources of the fire.
Stay up-to-date with missile defense
“By sending missile and drone strikes against Israel, the Houthis are aiming to send a message of support for Hamas and a signal to Israel that it can now reach it, and that they will not hesitate to use this capability in the future,” he said. What the Houthis did not use was the purportedly more superior ballistic missile known as the Toofan, which they recently unveiled and has a longer range. They’re also affecting shipping for the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar, one of the world’s top natural gas suppliers. Three liquid natural gas tankers that had recently loaded in Qatar and were bound for the Suez Canal remain idling off Oman, while another en route to Qatar from Europe remains off Saudi Arabia. Israel has responded to the Hamas attacks with airstrikes and a “complete siege” of Gaza, which the group controls. Military analysts were trying to determine who carried out the drone attacks, General Ryder said, but Iran-backed militias have in the past conducted drone and rocket attacks against the 2,500 American troops based in Iraq and the 900 troops in Syria.
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The incident could represent the first shots taken by the U.S. military in defense of Israel since the country was attacked by the Palestinian militant group on Oct. 7. They mark the third set of strikes as part of a coalition that includes the United States, the UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark and New Zealand. Mohammed Al Bukhaiti, a top member of the Houthi Political Council, said the group will continue its military operations until the siege on Gaza is lifted and vowed to respond to the latest US and UK strikes in Yemen. Hagari also said the Israeli military has deployed three divisions along the Lebanese border since October 7 -- instead of the usual single division to try to thwart Hezbollah's capabilities and protect people in northern Israel.
The United States military had said in late October that a navy warship in the northern Red Sea intercepted projectiles launched by the Houthis, potentially towards Israel. The American military did not specifically say the missile targeted the Laboon, following a pattern by the U.S. since the Houthi attacks began. However, U.S. sailors have received combat ribbons for their actions in the Red Sea — something handed out only to those who face active hostilities with an enemy force. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.
Ansar Allah has organised anti-Israeli protests in Yemen and circulated propaganda from other Iranian-backed militant groups but has yet to claim any attacks in the wake of the war that Hamas instigated on 7 October. He added that the Pentagon did not take the series of attacks on U.S. bases as a reason to believe the Israel-Hamas conflict had grown to include additional Iran allies. With regional tensions continuing to rise, the U.S. has been on high alert for activity from Iranian proxy groups like the Houthis. Several armed groups aligned with Iran have vowed to target U.S. military bases in the Middle East if it intervened in an expected Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.
Iranian-Made Quds-2 Cruise Missile Photographed in Iraq - The Washington Institute
Iranian-Made Quds-2 Cruise Missile Photographed in Iraq.
Posted: Fri, 05 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Later Friday, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Operations, which oversees Mideast waterways, acknowledged a vessel had been struck by a missile and was on fire in the Gulf of Aden. The civil war in Yemen between the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthi movement is a conflict deeply rooted in the country’s decades-old political divides. Yet since the Saudi-led intervention in 2015 to support the Hadi government, the war has broadened to become an arena of competition between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"U.S. Forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles. These missiles were prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and presented an imminent threat to both merchant and U.S. Navy ships in the region." While parties have taken some steps toward ending the violence, continued Houthi possession and use of long-range missiles and drones complicates prospects for restoring stability. The presence of a hostile actor on its southern flank with long-range projectiles significantly raises the stakes for Saudi Arabia, making Riyadh less willing to accept a robust Houthi role in a future Yemeni government.
A spokesperson for the terrorist group announced Tuesday that they had targeted the Israeli port city of Eilat with winged missiles the prior day, WION reported. The common analysis of recent air and missile defense engagements in the Red Sea through a cost exchange ratio framework ignores both the complexity of those engagements and the complicated value of air and missile defense. The US and UK carried out the strikes with the support of several other countries, according to a joint statement on Saturday. UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Saturday that strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen are about protection. The U.S. Navy’s top Mideast commander told the AP on Monday that the Houthi attacks were the worst since the so-called Tanker War of the 1980s.
On Saturday, the US and UK struck over 30 Houthi targets across Yemen, while the US also struck six Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles that the group was prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea, according to US officials. The Saudi-led Arab coalition has countered the missile campaign with a three-pronged strategy. Finally, the coalition has relied on active air and missile defenses—primarily the Patriot system—to defend against Houthi launches. The conflict in Yemen has the unique distinction of featuring by far the greatest use of ballistic missile defenses of any conflict in history. In response, the American and British navies have led international strikes against Houthi targets.
