The U.S. military launched another airstrike against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen early Saturday morning local time.
The strike comes after U.S.-led coalition forces struck dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen late Thursday night and early Friday morning after the terrorist group had conducted three months of attacks on international merchant vessels in the Red Sea.
The strike on Saturday morning hit a radar site that was believed to be involved in the targeting of ships in the Red Sea, U.S. officials said.
The first round of strikes hit at least 73 targets at 16 locations, including command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems. More than 100 precision-guided munitions were used.
The Biden administration, fearing the Islamic Republic of Iran, telegraphed its punches before the strikes, giving terrorists ample time to escape. Only five Houthi terrorists were killed and several others were injured.
The administration did not go after the Iranian spy ship that has been operating in the Red Sea helping the Houthis target merchant vessels.
Army Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, director of operations for the Joint Staff, said Friday that the U.S. was still conducting battle damage assessment of the various targets that were hit during the first round of airstrikes and were “very confident about where our munitions struck.”
“We know precisely the capability that the Houthis have been employing against the Red Sea and the Bab al Mandab,” Sims said. “This was solely designed to get after the capability that is impeding international freedom of navigation in international waters. We feel pretty confident we did good work on that.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is still recovering in the hospital, said that strikes were intended to “degrade the Houthis’ capabilities to endanger mariners and threaten global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways.”
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