2024-01-19 02:34:29
Despite repeated attacks on Iranian-backed Houthi militia positions in Yemen, the United States is not at war, according to a spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense. “We don’t want war. We don’t believe we are at war,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on Thursday (local time) in Washington. Meanwhile, Houthi rebels attacked a US merchant ship once more; the US said the freighter was not damaged.
A U.S. Central Command post on X indicates that two anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired at the tanker. However, these only hit the water. A Houthi spokesman had previously said in a statement on Friday night that the rockets had hit their target. The incident was first reported by a monitoring company, which also did not find any damage to the ship.
Singh said the Houthis were the ones who continued to fire cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles at innocent sailors and merchant ships in the Red Sea. “What we do together with our partners is self-defense.”
The US military had previously attacked Houthi positions once more. Two anti-ship missiles were hit, which the Houthis were preparing for an impending shelling in the Red Sea, it said. Just hours earlier, the United States had attacked 14 Houthi rockets that had been prepared for launch on Thursday night. Military strikes would continue if necessary, the Pentagon spokeswoman said, calling on the Houthi militia to stop its attacks on international shipping.
In response to repeated attacks in the Red Sea, the USA and Great Britain, with the support of allies, carried out a comprehensive military strike once morest the Houthis last week. Since the beginning of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, the Houthi militia has repeatedly attacked freighters with alleged Israeli connections. There is concern regarding a wildfire. “We don’t want a regional war,” Singh said.
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