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U.S. launches additional strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen

In this handout image provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, an RAF Typhoon aircraft returns to berth following a strike mission on Yemen's Houthi rebels at RAF Akrotiri on January 12, 2024 in Akrotiri, Cyprus.
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In this handout image provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, an RAF Typhoon aircraft returns to berth following a strike mission on Yemen's Houthi rebels at RAF Akrotiri on January 12, 2024 in Akrotiri, Cyprus.

Additional strikes against Houthis rebels were underway early Saturday in Yemen, targeting a radar facility, a U.S. defense official told NPR.

Word of the strikes come a day after President Biden authorized an initial series of airstrikes on Houthi forces because of what he called "reckless attacks" by the Houthis against international cargo ships and U.S. warships in the Red Sea.

According to Pentagon officials today, the United States and United Kingdom, along with other allies, hit more than 60 targets at 28 different locations on Thursday.

Department of Defense's press secretary Major General Patrick Ryder told NPR's Morning Edition that the administration hopes this attack on Houthi targets will put an end to Houthi strikes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis have ignored two previous ultimatums from the U.S. and other countries and continued their attacks in the region. More than 2,000 ships have had to divert their course to avoid the Red Sea, which is going to cause delays in international shipping for consumers.

If the Houthi attacks continue, there is widespread concern that the conflict will expand further into the region and continue to disrupt the global economy.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Andrew Sussman
Andrew Sussman is supervising editor for national security at NPR. Prior to joining the network in 2020, Sussman was executive producer for public radio's The World. He was a producer and reporter on the original team that launched the show in partnership with the BBC. Before that, Sussman oversaw a joint-venture newspaper collaboration with Komsomolskaya Pravda in Russia and then was an editor at The Moscow Times. He's also worked as a reporter with Radio France International in Paris. Sussman was a 2001 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Originally from Colorado, Sussman also grew up in Montreal, which will forever be home.