A Tomahawk land attack missile (TLAM) is launched from the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely against what the U.S. military describes as Houthi military targets in Yemen, February 3, 2024. U.S. Central. Photo: Reuters
The United States and Britain carried out large-scale military strikes on Saturday against multiple sites in Yemen controlled by Houthi militants, according to a statement from the two countries and six supporting allies, as the Biden administration continued its reprisal campaign in the Middle East targeting Iran-backed militias.
The attacks against 36 Houthi targets at 13 sites in northern Yemen came barely 24 hours after the United States carried out a series of military strikes against Iranian forces and the militias they support at seven sites in Syria and Iraq.
American and British warplanes, as well as Navy Tomahawk cruise missiles, hit deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defence systems and radars in Yemen, the statement said. Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand provided support, which officials said included intelligence and logistics assistance.
“These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes,” the statement said, referring to major attacks by the United States and Britain last month.
The attacks were the second-largest salvo since the allies first struck Houthi targets on Jan. 11. They came after a week in which the Houthis have been particularly defiant, launching several attack drones and cruise and ballistic missiles at merchant vessels and U.S. Navy warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The American-led air and naval strikes began in response to dozens of Houthi drone and missile attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November. Hundreds of ships have been forced to take a lengthy detour around southern Africa, driving up costs. The Houthis claim their attacks are in protest of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
The United States and several allies had repeatedly warned the Houthis of serious consequences if the salvos did not stop. However, the U.S.-led strikes have so far failed to deter the Houthis from attacking shipping lanes to and from the Suez Canal which are critical for global trade.
“Our military operations against the Zionist entity will continue until the aggression against Gaza stops, no matter what sacrifices it demands from us,” a senior Houthi official said in response to the latest attacks. “We will meet escalation with escalation.”
While the Biden administration maintains that it is not looking to widen the war in the region, the strikes over the past two days represent an escalation.
In scope, the strikes in Yemen were roughly the size of U.S. and British attacks on Jan. 22, but smaller than the salvos on Jan. 11, officials said.
The strikes on Saturday came after a back-and-forth exchange of more limited attacks in the previous 36 hours between the Houthis and U.S. forces in the Red Sea and nearby waters.
At about 10:30 a.m. local time on Friday, the destroyer Carney shot down a drone flying over the Gulf of Aden. Six hours later, the United States attacked four Houthi attack drones that the military’s Central Command said were about to launch and threaten merchant ships in the Red Sea. At about 9:20 p.m., U.S. forces struck cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen after determining they presented a threat to vessels in the region, Central Command said in another release. And about five hours after that, early Saturday, the destroyer Laboon and FA-18 attack planes shot down seven drones flying over the Red Sea.
Then on Saturday night, before the planned strikes, the United States hit six Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles as they were being prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea, Central Command said.
So far, the Biden administration has been trying to chip away at the Houthis’ ability to menace merchant ships and military vessels without killing large numbers of Houthi fighters and commanders, which could potentially unleash even more mayhem into a widening war.
NYT.
美國和英國襲擊了也門胡塞武裝控制的13個地點
根據兩國和六個支持盟友的聲明，美國和英國週六對也門胡塞武裝分子控制的多個地點進行了大規模軍事打擊，拜登政府繼續在中東開展報復行動伊朗支持的民兵。
就在美國對敘利亞和伊拉克七個地點的伊朗軍隊及其支持的民兵進行一系列軍事打擊後不到 24 小時，也門北部 13 個地點的 36 個胡塞武裝目標遭到襲擊。
聲明稱，美國和英國戰機以及海軍戰斧巡航飛彈襲擊了也門深埋的武器儲存設施、飛彈系統和發射器、防空系統和雷達。 澳洲、巴林、丹麥、加拿大、荷蘭和紐西蘭提供了支持，官員稱其中包括情報和後勤援助。
聲明中寫道：「這些精確打擊的目的是破壞和削弱胡塞武裝用來威脅全球貿易和無辜海員生命的能力，也是對自上次聯軍襲擊以來胡塞武裝採取的一系列非法、危險和破壞穩定行動的回應。」說，指的是美國和英國上個月發生的重大攻擊事件。
這次攻擊是自1 月11 日盟軍首次攻擊胡塞武裝目標以來的第二大齊射。一週前，胡塞武裝表現得特別挑釁，向商船和美國海軍軍艦發射了多架攻擊無人機、巡航飛彈和彈道飛彈。分佈於紅海和亞丁灣。
自11月以來，美國領導的空中和海上打擊行動是為了回應胡塞武裝無人機和飛彈對紅海商業航運的數十次攻擊。 數百艘船被迫繞道南部非洲很長一段距離，導致成本上升。 胡塞武裝聲稱他們的攻擊是為了抗議以色列對加薩哈馬斯的軍事行動。
美國和幾個盟國多次警告胡塞武裝，如果不停止齊射，將造成嚴重後果。 然而，美國領導的攻擊迄今未能阻止胡塞武裝攻擊對全球貿易至關重要的蘇伊士運河進出航道。
胡塞武裝一名高級官員在回應最新襲擊事件時表示：“我們針對猶太復國主義實體的軍事行動將繼續下去，直到對加沙的侵略停止，無論它要求我們做出什麼犧牲。”
“我們將以升級應對升級。”
儘管拜登政府堅稱不打算擴大該地區的戰事，但過去兩天的攻擊顯示戰事升級。
官員表示，從範圍上看，也門的襲擊規模與美國和英國 1 月 22 日的襲擊規模大致相當，但小於 1 月 11 日的齊射。
週六的襲擊是在過去 36 小時內胡塞武裝和美軍在紅海及附近水域進行了多次有限的襲擊之後發生的。
當地時間週五上午10時30分左右，卡尼號驅逐艦擊落一架飛越亞丁灣的無人機。 六小時後，美國襲擊了四架胡塞攻擊無人機，軍方中央司令部稱這架無人機即將發射並威脅紅海的商船。 中央司令部在另一份新聞稿中表示，晚上 9 點 20 分左右，美軍在確定巡航飛彈對也門胡塞武裝控制地區的船隻構成威脅後，對該地區的船隻進行了打擊。 大約五個小時後，即周六早些時候，驅逐艦 Laboon 和 FA-18 攻擊機擊落了紅海上空飛行的七架無人機。
中央司令部表示，週六晚上，在計劃實施的襲擊之前，美國擊中了六枚胡塞武裝反艦巡航飛彈，當時他們正準備向紅海的船隻發射飛彈。
到目前為止，拜登政府一直在試圖削弱胡塞武裝威脅商船和軍艦的能力，但又不殺死大量胡塞武裝人員和指揮官，這可能會引發更多混亂，導致一場不斷擴大的戰爭
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