Yemen Monitor/Newsroom
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Friday that it had destroyed a Houthi ground control station in Yemen.
In a statement, CENTCOM said, “Over the past 24 hours, US Central Command forces successfully destroyed a Houthi ground control station in an area controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.”
It added that the ground control station posed a clear and imminent threat to US forces, coalition forces, and commercial shipping in the region.
On Thursday, Houthi media reported that an airstrike had targeted Al-Salif district of Hodeidah governorate in western Yemen, without providing further details.
The statement noted that these actions are being taken to protect freedom of navigation and to make international waters safer for US, coalition, and commercial ships.
Since the end of last year, the Houthis have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and have recently expanded their operations to the Indian Ocean. They claim to be targeting ships linked to Israel, which is launching a brutal attack on Gaza Strip. However, the Yemeni government and experts say that the Houthis’ goals are domestic, aimed at escaping domestic crises and improving their image in the region.
In response, the US and Britain have been conducting airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi militants since January 11. As a result, the Houthis have announced an expansion of their operations to include US and British ships.
Since November, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) has recorded more than 190 attacks on US commercial or military ships off the coast of Yemen, including nearly 100 attacks since the start of US airstrikes on the Yemeni mainland.
