Early Thursday, a U.S. warship fired three cruise missiles at radar installations in Yemen that the Pentagon says were used by Houthi rebels to target the USS Mason, stationed off Yemen's coast, over the past four days. On Sunday and Wednesday, missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of war-torn Yemen were fired at the Mason, but fell into the sea. Still, American military commanders say these attacks pose a real threat to ships in the Bab el Mandeb Strait, on the southern end of the Red Sea. President Obama approved the retaliatory strikes, America's first direct salvo at the Houthi rebels.
"These limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships, and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway," the Pentagon said. "The United States will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic." The U.S. is supporting a coalition led by Saudi Arabia that has been attacking the Houthis since March 2015, siding with Yemen's president against an Iran-backed faction led by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. More than 4,000 civilians have been killed in the Saudi-led bombing, according the Untied Nations, including 140 people killed in an airstrike on a funeral in Sanaa last weekend.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The controversial Free Birth SocietyThe Explainer Influencers are encouraging pregnant women to give birth without midwife care – at potentially tragic cost
-
Wes Anderson: The Archives – ‘quirkfest’ celebrates the director’s ‘impeccable craft’The Week Recommends Retrospective at the Design Museum showcases 700 props, costumes and set designs from the filmmaker’s three-decade career
-
Is conscription the answer to Europe’s security woes?Today's Big Question How best to boost troop numbers to deal with Russian threat is ‘prompting fierce and soul-searching debates’
-
Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica as Category 5 stormSpeed Read The year’s most powerful storm is also expected to be the strongest ever recorded in Jamaica
-
Renewables top coal as Trump seeks reversalSpeed Read For the first time, renewable energy sources generated more power than coal, said a new report
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining USSpeed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquakespeed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across PacificSpeed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resignsSpeed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodgeSpeed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Search for survivors continues after Texas floodsSpeed Read A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children
