US says forces struck Houthi weapons stores in Yemen 

Yemen

The U.S. military said Wednesday its forces hit weapons storage facilities used by Yemen's Houthi rebels to attack American warships and commercial vessels. The operation involved "multiple precision strikes," U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement, adding "there were no injuries or damage to US personnel or equipment," The statement did not specify the location of the storage facilities. "The strikes are part of CENTCOM's effort to degrade Iranian-backed [Houthi] attempts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region," it said. The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV said there were five raids in the northwestern Amran province and two in Sanaa province, where the capital Sanaa is located. The Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 from Yemen's internationally recognized government and control much of the war-torn country's most populated areas. For more than a year they have been firing missiles and drones at Israel and at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have destabilized a vital shipping lane, prompting strikes by the United States and sometimes Britain that began in January 2024. Most Houthi missiles and drones launched towards Israel have been intercepted, but a missile wounded 16 people in Tel Aviv in December, according to Israel's military and emergency services.