The U. S. military has introduced new measures in Yemen against anti-ship missiles and Houthi facilities in Iraq, targeting Iranian-backed armed teams that it claims were missile and drone attacks on U. S. troops in Iraq and Syria.
The movements in Yemen, which took up position at 2:30 a. m. (23:30 GMT Tuesday) on Wednesday are the latest attacks on the Iranian-aligned group, which attacks ships in the Red Sea and has warned it will stop.
“U. S. forces were aware of the missiles in Houthi-controlled spaces in Yemen and decided they posed an imminent risk to merchant ships and U. S. Navy vessels in the region,” the military’s central command said, adding that two missiles were destroyed in “self-attacks. ” the defense. “
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas, and Hamas say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
On January 24, at approximately 2:30 a. m. (Sana’a time), U. S. Central Command forces carried out opposing movements to two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed at the southern Red Sea and were ready to be launched. . . pic. twitter. com/l3CMPrDx92
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 24, 2024
The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 25,000 people were killed and more than 63,000 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which Israeli officials say killed another 1,139 people.
Since the U. S. and its allies began attacking Houthi army installations on Jan. 11, the Pentagon says it has destroyed or defaced more than 25 missile launch and deployment facilities — more than 20 missiles — while targeting drones, coastal radars and the group’s air surveillance capabilities. . and garage areas for weapons.
Separately, on Wednesday, the United States attacked sites used by Iranian-backed armed teams in Iraq, U. S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced, days after U. S. troops attacked the country.
Four U. S. workers suffered head injuries on Saturday after the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq was hit by several ballistic missiles and rockets believed to have been fired by militant-backed militants. through Iran.
“U. S. military forces carried out proportional measures at three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah defense forces and other Iranian-affiliated groups in Iraq,” Austin said in a statement.
“These precision measures are a direct reaction to a series of escalating attacks on U. S. and coalition workers in Iraq and Syria through Iranian-sponsored militias,” he said.
Kataib Hezbollah’s military spokesman, Jaafar al-Husseini, said in a message on X that the organization would continue to attack “enemy bases” until the end of the Israeli siege of Gaza and pointed the finger at the United States for the Israeli campaign.
Iraqi sources said at least two other people were killed and two others wounded in the latest moves in Jurf al-Sakhar, south of the capital, Baghdad, as well as in the al-Qaim domain on the border with Syria.
The U. S. attack had undermined the country’s “security and stability. “
“This unacceptable act undermines years of cooperation, blatantly violates Iraq’s sovereignty and leads to irresponsible escalation at a time when the region faces the danger of an expansion of the conflict due to the war of immoral extermination faced by the other Palestinians,” General Yahya Rasool was quoted as saying by the Iraqi news agency.
A senior Iraqi official said the U. S. airstrikes “don’t help restore calm. “”The U. S. side deserves to press to prevent the [Israeli] offensive in Gaza instead of attacking and bombing the bases of an Iraqi national body,” Qasim al-Araji, a national security adviser said, in an article on X.
He is referring to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as the Hashd al-Shaabi, an alliance of former Iranian-aligned paramilitary teams now incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces.
Iraq has condemned such attacks in the past and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called for US-led coalition troops to leave the country.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday that the United States had asked China to urge Iran to rein in the Houthi rebels, but saw little sign of help from Beijing. Washington has raised the issue with senior Chinese officials for the past three months, according to the statement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also raised the issue with his Chinese counterpart, the report said, adding that US officials believe there was little evidence that China had put any pressure on Iran to restrain the Houthis beyond a mild statement Beijing issued last week.