# US targets anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by Yemeni Houthis

By Jarryd Jaeger · Published 2024-01-17 · News & Analysis › National Security · https://humanevents.com/news/us-targets-anti-ship-ballistic-missiles-fired-by-yemeni-houthis

> An official said the targets "posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships."

On Tuesday, the United States carried out another round of [strikes](https://humanevents.com/2024/01/11/breaking-us-and-uk-carry-out-strikes-on-houthi-targets-in-yemen) in Yemen, this time targeting anti-ship ballistic missiles used by [Houthi](https://thepostmillennial.com/trump-designated-yemens-houthis-as-terrorists-one-day-after-taking-office-biden-reversed-it)s.

The move comes just one day after the Iranian-backed terrorist group attacked an American-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

As the [Daily Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12970275/US-h-strikes-Yemen-houthis.html) reports, a US official explained that the Biden administration had "conducted self-defense strikes against four Houthi ballistic missiles that posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships."

"At approximately, 4:15 a.m. (Sanaa time), US Forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," US Central Command noted, per [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-carries-new-airstrike-houthis-yemen/story?id=106414037).

"We know they still have some capability," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said of the Houthis during a press conference on Tuesday. "They have a choice to make about what they do with that capability. If they choose to keep conducting these attacks, we will continue to defend against them and counter them as appropriate."

The American military began firing at targets in Yemen last week in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, which have been ongoing since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas.

According to [US Central Command](https://humanevents.com/2024/01/11/breaking-us-and-uk-carry-out-strikes-on-houthi-targets-in-yemen) (CENTCOM), on January 11, three US destroyers, accompanied by US F-18s and a British warship, successfully intercepted and downed 18 drones and multiple missiles launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.

The US, among a host of other nations, warned the Houthis of their plan to retaliate should they continue carrying out attacks.

"The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and the free flow of commerce in the region's critical waterways," the White House said in its own statement, with President Biden adding that "these strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history."

Following the news that the terrorist group's assets had been targeted and hit, [protestors](https://thepostmillennial.com/protesters-chant-uk-and-us-can-go-to-hell-in-times-square-after-biden-bombs-houthis-in-yemen) took to the streets of New York City calling for the UK and US to "go to hell."

"From Yemen to Palestine, resistance is justified," the protestors chanted as they made their way through Times Square.