US military strikes Houthi radar sites in Yemen after ship disappears in Red Sea

The US military is attacking radar sites operated by Yemen’s Houthi rebels after a merchant sailor and boat went missing in the Red Sea earlier this week.

The US strikes destroyed seven radars inside Houthi territory, the military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said. The Associated Press reported that the military did not provide details about how the sites were destroyed and did not immediately respond to questions.

The radars “allow the Houthis to target maritime vessels and endanger commercial shipping,” CENTCOM said in a statement to the AP.

The attacks are the latest development in the Red Sea, where the Houthis have attacked ships in a bid to stop the ongoing war in Gaza. Like other Iranian-backed groups, the Houthis protest Israel’s continued bombing of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The group claimed to have struck ships providing aid to Israel in its ongoing military operation, while others struck US targets because Washington offered continued support to the Israeli military.

However, as the news agency noted, the rebel group is also targeting ships and sailors that have nothing to do with the war. About half of all international cargo boats have been diverted through the critical maritime corridor amid the ongoing conflict.

Separately, the US destroyed two drone boats in the Red Sea that contained bombs, as well as a drone that was launched above the waterway by Houthi rebels.

CENTCOM acknowledged that a commercial sailor from the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned cargo carrier Tutor has been missing since Wednesday after the Houthis used a drone with a bomb to attack the boat.

The crew abandoned ship and was rescued by the USS Philippine Sea and partner forces, but the Tutor remains in the Red Sea and is “taking on water,” the agency said, according to the AP.

The missing sailor is Filipino, the Philippine News Agency said.

While most Houthi attacks since November have been unsuccessful, with the US shooting down drones almost daily, several commercial ships have been hit, at least four of them US ships, the Pentagon said in March.

The U.S. Navy is likely spending more than $2 million on each surface-to-air missile to put down each Houthi attack.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story