US Central Command (CENTCOM) has continued its large-scale operation against the Houthis in Yemen, initially launched on March 15. Waves of US strikes have hit Houthi training sites, drone and weapons storage, manufacturing, and launch infrastructure, government buildings, and personnel, according to CENTCOM and local reports.
The US is targeting the Iran-backed terror group due to its “unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other ships, aircraft, and drones,” President Donald Trump posted on X and Truth Social, referencing the group’s campaign since 2023 that’s included 174 attacks on US warships and 145 attacks on commercial vessels. The Houthis carried out these attacks in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza begun by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
After the initial US strikes, Trump’s social media posts warned the Houthis, “THE ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” The Houthis responded with defiant rhetoric and unsuccessful attacks on a US aircraft carrier and its escorts. The US has subsequently continued strikes on the terrorist group.
Strike updates
Lieutenant General Alexus G. Grynkewich, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Houthi targets struck on March 15 included “terrorist training sites, unmanned ariel vehicle infrastructure, weapons manufacturing capabilities, and weapons storage facilities […] command and control centers, including a terrorist compound where we know several senior Houthi unmanned ariel vehicle experts were located.”
CENTCOM also targeted “additional headquarters locations, weapons storage facilities, as well as detection capabilities that had been used to threaten maritime shipping in the past” on March 16, according to Grynkewich.
In addition, the US targeted Houthi leaders in these strikes. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz asserted that multiple leaders have been killed.
As of March 16, the Houthis have claimed 53 casualties from US airstrikes. Grynkewich said the US has no evidence “of any credible civilian casualties” but believes the number of militant deaths to be in the “dozens.”
Yemeni media has identified strikes in Houthi-controlled areas that include the governorates of Al Jawf, Sanaa, Saada, Marib, Dhamar, Al Bayda, Hajjah, Taiz, and Hodeidah. Over the weekend, local sources reported strikes on “a government complex and military sites in the city of Al-Hazm, the capital of Al-Jawf Governorate, which is under the control of the terrorist Houthi militia.” Additionally, a power station in Saada was struck, leading to power outages across the governorate.
In Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, “Residents and sources said the airstrikes targeted what were believed to be weapons depots at Iman University in the Sitteen neighborhood,” amongst other locations, according to Yemeni media.
The Houthis also claimed that the US attacked the command tower of the Galaxy Leader, an Israeli-linked cargo ship the Houthis hijacked in the Red Sea in November 2023. Yemen analysts have noted the potential for the Houthis to employ the Galaxy Leader for intelligence gathering and targeting ships.
The Houthi response
On March 18, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced that “in the past hours, they [the Houthis] were able to target the US aircraft carrier ‘USS Harry Truman’ in the northern Red Sea with two cruise missiles and two drones, and to target a US destroyer with a cruise missile and four drones.” It is the third wave of attacks the group has claimed against the USS Harry Truman since CENTCOM’s strikes began on March 15.
In his nightly Ramadan speech on March 17, Houthi leader Adbulmalik al Houthi stated, “Their [The United States’] continued aggression against our country, in support of the Israeli enemy, only pushes us to confront their escalation with additional escalation options.” The Houthis have promised to continue attacking US forces in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea until the operation against the group ends.
In a Pentagon briefing on March 17, Grynkewich responded to Houthi claims of attacks against US forces. “Quite frankly, it’s hard to tell because while we’re executing precision strikes, they missed by over 100 miles,” he said.
The Houthis also launched a missile at Israel that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted on March 18. Another Houthi missile landed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on March 16, possibly intended for Israel.
New US pressure against the Houthis and Iran
Before launching the latest US operation, the Trump administration re-designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) for their attacks on ships in international waters. The group was previously designated as an FTO during the first Trump administration. However, President Joe Biden’s administration de-listed the group over concerns the designation hindered the flow of humanitarian aid. The Biden administration carried out limited strikes against the Houthis in response to the group’s aggression against vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Unlike previous US strikes against the Houthis, Grynkewich said the latest operations will be an ongoing campaign that “will continue in the coming days until we achieve the president’s objectives.”
Trump has also promised to hold Iran accountable for Houthi attacks, saying, “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible.” The Houthis are members of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” a group of proxy militias across the Middle East who support Tehran in achieving its regional policy objectives. Following the beginning of the operation against the Houthis, Iran made statements partially distancing itself from the group’s actions.
