Initial US-UK strikes only impacted 25 pct of Houthi capabilities, US Senator reveals

The top-ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reveals that last week’s joint US-UK strikes in Yemen only impacted 25 percent of Houthi capabilities.

“It’s no surprise their attacks continue,” Senator Jim Risch said in a post on X. He added that the US and its allies needed to “do more” to deter the Houthis on a “permanent basis.”

The US, assisted by the UK, carried out over a dozen strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen last Thursday, American officials said, marking the first response to attacks carried out by the Iran-backed group in the Red Sea.

Fighter jets, warships and a submarine were conducting the retaliatory attacks on over a dozen targets, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. No drone attacks were conducted.

Joint Staff Director Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims later told reporters that the strikes degraded Houthi capabilities. “I don’t believe they would be able to execute the same way they did the other day,” he said.

But the Houthis have continued to target vessels as well as British and American warships in the area, vowing to push ahead due to the Israeli war on Gaza.

On Tuesday, American fighter jets carried out more strikes against the Houthis, according to a US defense official.

The Houthis targeted and struck a US-owned and operated container ship on Monday. In response, the official said US forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles. “These missiles were prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and presented an imminent threat to both merchant and US Navy ships in the region,” the official told Al Arabiya English.

The same official said that this was the third set of US strikes on the Houthis since last Thursday.