assesses that the ships were not the target. In one breath, the Pentagon officials say the Navy ships shot down the Houthi drones heading toward them because they were deemed “a threat.” But in the next breath officials say the U.S. warship after it assisted a vessel linked to Israel that had briefly been seized by gunmen.ĭefending the lack of retaliation for those attacks has forced U.S. And Houthi missiles landed near another U.S. Also, last month, Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen, and still hold the vessel. The Houthis, meanwhile, have fired missiles at vessels in the Red Sea, launched drones and missiles targeting Israel and sent drones in the direction of Navy ships. And it struck multiple sites in Iraq late last month after a militia group for the first time fired short-range ballistic missiles at U.S. 17, targeting weapons depots and other facilities linked directly to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and the militias. has retaliated with airstrikes three times in Syria since Oct. In all instances so far, the personnel have returned to work. Dozens of troops have suffered minor injuries - in most cases traumatic brain injuries. Iran-backed militia have launched one-way attack drones, rockets or close-range ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq 37 times and in Syria 40 times. But both publicly and privately, officials stress that there is a difference between the Iraq and Syria bombings and the Houthi attacks. officials warn that military action is an option and they haven't taken it off the table. The White House wants to preserve the truce and is wary of taking action that could open up another war front. That reluctance reflects political sensitivities and stems largely from broader Biden administration concerns about upending the shaky truce in Yemen and triggering a wider conflict in the region. 17, the military has not yet retaliated against the Houthis. has carried out airstrikes on Iranian-back militias in Iraq and Syria that have targeted American troops in 77 different attacks since Oct. Central Command said, “We cannot assess at this time whether the Carney was a target” of the drones. On Wednesday, the USS Mason shot down a drone heading in its direction. And throughout that day, the USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, shot down three drones that were headed toward the ship and also went to the aid of the commercial vessels. Sunday's flurry of attacks included missiles that hit the Unity Explorer, the Number 9 and the Sophie II, all bulk carriers. But any Israel connections to other ships are unclear. Israeli media identified Ungar as being the son of Israeli shipping billionaire Abraham “Rami” Ungar. It is owned by a British firm that includes Dan David Ungar, who lives in Israel, as one of its officers. One of the commercial ships hit on Sunday - the Unity Explorer - has a tenuous Israeli link. Yahya Saree said the group wants to "prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Red Sea (and Gulf of Aden) until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops.” Houthi leaders have insisted Israel is their target.Īfter the weekend attacks, Houthi military spokesman Brig. 17 at a hospital in Gaza killed and injured many. The Houthis have sporadically targeted ships in the region over time, but the attacks have increased since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas and spiked after an explosion Oct. While they reported “positive results,” there is still no permanent peace. Saudi Arabia and the rebels have done some prisoner swaps, and a Houthi delegation was invited to high-level peace talks in Riyadh in September as part of a wider détente the kingdom has reached with Iran. The war has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.Ī cease-fire that technically ended more than a year ago is still largely being honored. Years of bloody, inconclusive fighting against the Saudi-led coalition settled into a stalemated proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, causing widespread hunger and misery in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to try to restore Yemen's exiled, internationally recognized government to power. Houthi rebels swept down from their northern stronghold in Yemen and seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, launching a grinding war. Who are the Houthis and what's going on in Yemen
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