The Yemen-based Houthi militant group carried out its third attack on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in just three days on Thursday, this time targeting an American owned tanker ship, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced.
“The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship. The ship has continued underway,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
The attack came one day after the United States conducted its fourth round of air strikes against the Iranian-backed outfit. “The actions by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways,” General Michael Erik Kurilla, a CENTCOM commander, said at the time. “We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners and we will always protect our people.”
The strikes led to the destruction of 14 missiles and their launchers ahead of an impending Houthi attack, CENTCOM explained late Wednesday. The strikes reportedly hit three locations in the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, according to local news outlets in the Middle Eastern country.
The military response came the day after America destroyed four anti-ship ballistic missiles.
Asked whether the strikes have been effective, President Biden said Thursday acknowledged that they have not been, but said they will nevertheless continue.
“When you say working are they stopping the Houthis? No,” Biden told reporters. “Are they going to continue? Yes.”
In mid December, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the creation of a multinational security initiative to curb Houthi activities in the region, known as Operation Prosperity Guardian.
“Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.”
In late December a group of more than 40 prominent conservatives known as Advancing American Freedom (AAF) pushed the White House to redesignate the Houthis a terrorist group. The Trump administration labeled the Yemeni group, which controls much of the northern parts of the country, a terrorist organization in January 2021. The Biden administration reversed that decision shortly after taking office.
AAF executive director Paul Teller said the removal of the Houthis’ terrorist designation was a grave error. “Removing the Houthis from the list of terrorist organizations was one of the first mistakes of this administration,” Teller said at the time.
“As the Middle East grows more unstable after Hamas’s unprovoked attack in Israel, the Houthis have added to the chaos, and there is no diplomacy that will dissuade them. The United States must return to a posture of clear-headed realism and treat our enemies as they deserve to be treated.”