United States stealth bombers attack Houthi weapons caches in Yemen
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
On Oct. 16, the United States carried out a round of strikes in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthis.
On Oct. 16, the United States (US) carried out a round of strikes in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthis, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, targeting five underground weapons storage facilities using B-2 stealth bombers. While it wasn’t immediately clear how much damage the strikes caused, the attack appeared to be the first use of the B-2 in combat in years, and the first time the flying wing targeted sites in Yemen. The facilities housed advanced conventional weapons used to target military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Following the attack, three US defense officials told CNN, “This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified” Austin stated. “The employment of US Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrates U.S. global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere.”
This attack marks the first time the US has used a strategic stealth bomber to attack the Houthis in Yemen since the beginning of the US campaign. The B-2 is a much larger platform than the fighter jets that have been used so far to target Houthi facilities and weapons, capable of carrying a far heavier load of bombs. Austin said he authorized the strikes at the direction of President Joe Biden to “further degrade” the Houthis’ abilities after more than a year of attacks by the militant group on US and international vessels in the region. The facilities attacked were holding “various weapons components” of weapons used to target vessels in the Middle East. The defense secretary said. “We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that there will be consequences for their illegal and reckless attacks,” he said.
“America will pay the price for its aggression on Yemen, and as we have said before, its aggression will not deter Yemen from its stance in support of Gaza,” Nasruddin Amer, the deputy head of the media office for the Houthis, said on X. Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are all part of an Iran-led alliance spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq that has attacked Israel and its allies since the war began. They say they won’t stop striking Israel and its allies until a ceasefire is reached in the Palestinian enclave.
The attack on the Houthis comes at a time of great regional tension. Israel is expected to retaliate for Iran’s recent missile barrage before the US election on Nov. 5, and its conflicts with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza are ongoing. Wednesday’s strike—early Thursday morning—is the latest in a saga of back-and-forth attacks by the Houthis and the US, as the Houthis have been carrying out constant attacks on commercial shipping and Navy assets in the region for months.
It also comes as US service members have begun arriving in Israel after the US announced the deployment of an advanced anti-missile system to help protect Israel following Iran’s missile barrage. While the US has in the past carried out strikes against the Houthis in partnership with the UK, Wednesday’s strike was carried out by the US alone. US Central Command said that US Air Force and Navy assets were involved in the operation.