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

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The US military unleashed a wave of attacks against radar sites operated by Yemen’s Houthi rebels for their attacks on shipping in the crucial Red Sea corridor, authorities said Saturday, after a merchant sailor went missing following an earlier Houthi attack on a ship.

The attacks occur as The US Navy faces the most intense combat seen since World War II to try to counter the Houthi campaign: attacks that the rebels say are intended to stop the War between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, in Iranian-backed rebel attacks the Houthis often target ships and sailors that have nothing to do with the war, while traffic remains halved through a vital corridor for cargo shipments 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. He did not elaborate on 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 United States separately destroyed two bomb-laden unmanned ships in the Red Sea, as well as a drone launched by the Houthis over the waterway, he said.

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

Meanwhile, Central Command said a commercial sailor from the Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged bulk cargo ship Tutor remained missing after a Wednesday attack by the Houthis that used an unmanned ship carrying a bomb to attack the ship.

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

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

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

“The Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza, yet they attack and threaten the lives of third-country nationals who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza,” Central Command said. “The current threat to international trade caused by the Houthis makes it more difficult to deliver much-needed assistance to the people of Yemen and Gaza.”