US military strikes 15 Houthi targets in Yemen

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. military said it carried out 15 strikes on Friday against targets linked to Iran-aligned Houthi fighters in Yemen, where residents reported blasts at military outposts and even an airport.

Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, said the targets were tied to Houthi offensive military capabilities, but did not detail whether that included missile, drone or radar capabilities.

In a post on X, Central Command said the strikes took place at about 1400 GMT.

The Houthis have carried out nearly 100 attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November and say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel’s year-long war in Gaza. They have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.

Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement controlling much of Yemen, and residents said airstrikes were launched at several parts of Yemen including its capital Sanaa and Hodeidah airport.

Strikes also targeted the south of Dhamar city and the southeast of al-Bayda province, the channel added.

Residents said that the attack on al-Bayda province targeted several Houthi military outposts.

The Biden administration has been acting mostly defensively against Houthi strikes in the Red Sea, usually moving to intercept drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels and U.S. warships.

It has also struck Houthi military infrastructure with less frequency and avoided broader targets in Yemen, as it seeks to contain fallout from the nearly year-old Israel-Hamas war.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Enas Alashray and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Sandra Maler)