By Al-Fassel | 2024-12-27

US forces conducted precision airstrikes December 21 against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by the Houthis in Sanaa.

The strikes intended to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb strait and Gulf of Aden, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

During the operation, US forces also shot down multiple Houthi one-way attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) over the Red Sea, it said.

The operation involved US Air Force and US Navy assets, including F/A-18s.

"The strike reflects CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment to protect US and coalition personnel, regional partners and international shipping," it said.

A previous round of US strikes, conducted December 16, targeted a key command and control facility operated by the Houthis, also in Sanaa.

"The targeted facility was a hub for coordinating Houthi operations," CENTCOM said.

Houthis' disinformation

In a claim that was swiftly refuted by the US military, the Houthis falsely claimed they had shot down an F-18 aircraft over the weekend, with the group's spokesman alleging they had "foiled a US-UK attack" on Yemen.

The false claim was widely circulated on social media.

The US military said two US Navy pilots had been shot down over the Red Sea early December 21 in "an apparent case of friendly fire."

CENTCOM said the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg "mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18" fighter aircraft, which US Navy pilots had flown off the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.

Both US pilots were recovered alive but "initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries," CENTCOM said.

Military officials dismissed the Houthis' boast as "propaganda," noting that the Iran-backed group has a long track record of such deception.

This incident "was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is under way," CENTCOM said.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, waterways vital to global trade.

The group has used its Red Sea escalation to suggest it is "in confrontation with the only superpower, the United States," Middle East Institute scholar Ibrahim Jalal said in a January 19 interview with France 24.

This serves the Iran-backed group's mobilization and recruitment objectives, even on a temporary basis, he said, "because as soon as this ends, the public wants to focus on the immediate priorities of day to day life."

This will bring the Houthis' well-documented violations and failures of governance into sharp focus, he added -- a reality the group is hoping to avoid at all costs.