Officials say US missiles destroy radar sites on Yemen coast
WASHINGTON — U.S.-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles destroyed three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory on Yemen’s Red Sea Coast early Thursday, officials said, a retaliatory action that followed two incidents this week in which missiles were fired at U.S. Navy ships.
The strikes marked the first U.S. strikes targeting the Houthis in Yemen’s long-running civil war. The U.S. previously only provided logistical support and refuelling to the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies, including supporters of Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
While the U.S. military has been focused on al-Qaida in Yemen, the Houthis had not been a primary target of American forces until the missile launches from Houthi-controlled territory this week.
No information on casualties from the U.S. missiles was provided by American officials. The three radar sites were in remote areas, where there was little risk of civilian casualties or collateral damage, said a military official who was not authorized to be named and spoke on condition of anonymity.