US military targets Houthi radar sites in Yemen after a merchant sailor goes missing

The United States military has unleashed a wave of attacks on radar sites operated by Yemen’s Houthi rebels because of their attacks on ships in the crucial Red Sea corridor, officials said Saturday, after a merchant sailor went missing following an earlier attack by Houthi to a ship.

Attacks occur as US Navy faces the most intense combat seen since World War II in an attempt to contain the Houthi campaign – attacks that the rebels say are aimed at stopping the Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip. However, Iranian-backed rebel attacks often see the Houthis target ships and sailors that have nothing to do with the war, while traffic remains halved through a vital corridor for transporting cargo and energy. between Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

The US strikes destroyed seven radars inside Houthi-controlled territory, the military’s Central Command said. It did not detail how the sites were destroyed and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.

“These radars allow the Houthis to target maritime vessels and endanger commercial shipping,” Central Command said in a statement.

The US separately destroyed two bomb-laden drone boats in the Red Sea, as well as a drone launched by the Houthis over the waterway, it said.

The Houthis, who have controlled Yemen’s capital Sanaa since 2014, have not acknowledged the attacks or any military losses. This has been typical since the US began launching airstrikes against the rebels.

Meanwhile, Central Command said a commercial sailor from the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk cargo carrier Tutor remained missing following an attack on Wednesday by the Houthis who used a bomb-carrying drone boat to attack the vessel.

“The crew abandoned ship and were rescued by USS Philippine Sea and partner forces,” Central Command said. The “Tutor remains in the Red Sea and is slowly entering the water.”

The missing sailor is Filipino, according to the Philippine state news agency, which cited Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac. He said most of the Tutor’s 22 sailors were from the Philippines.

“We are trying to account for the specific sailor on the ship and praying we can find him,” he said Friday night.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on ships, killed three sailors, seized one ship and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration. A US-led campaign of airstrikes has targeted the Houthis since January, with a series of strikes on May 30 killing at least 16 people and injuring 42 others, rebels say.

The war in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, while hundreds of others have been killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank. It all started after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.

“The Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza and yet they target and threaten the lives of third country citizens who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza,” Central Command said. “The continued threat to international trade posed by the Houthis makes it indeed more difficult to provide much-needed assistance to the people of Yemen, as well as Gaza.”