US says B2 bombers launched ‘precision strikes’ against Houthis in Yemen 

The United States military has bombed a series of Houthi targets in Yemen, the US defence chief has said.

US Air Force B-2 bombers conducted “precision strikes” against five underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of the country, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.

The strikes targeted “hardened” underground facilities used to store weapons components of the kind used by the Houthis to target civilian and military vessels in the region, Austin said.

“This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified,” Austin said.

“The employment of US Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrate US global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere.”

The statement appeared to be an indirect warning to Iran, the Houthis’ main ally, which has hardened nuclear facilities like Natanz or Fordo. Since Iran’s October 1 missile attack on Israel in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, there has been much speculation about how Tel Aviv will retaliate.

Austin also said Houthi attacks continued to disrupt international trade, and he had ordered the strikes to “degrade the Houthis’ capability to continue their destabilising behaviour and to protect and defend US forces and personnel in one of the world’s most critical waterways”.

US Central Command said in a separate statement that its damage assessment did not indicate civilian casualties.

The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel reported airstrikes around Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, which the group has held since 2014, and around the Houthi stronghold of Saada. It offered no immediate information on damage or casualties.

Yemen’s Houthis have carried out more than 100 missile and drone attacks on ships in the Red Sea since the start of the war in Gaza.

Last month, they launched a long-range ballistic missile from Yemen that hit central Israel, sparking fire. The missile triggered air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel, including the Ben Gurion international airport, sending residents running for shelter.

The Iran-aligned group has cast its attacks as a show of support for Palestinians facing Israeli bombardment, although it has also attacked vessels with no obvious connection to the war.

There are no previous reports of the B-2 Spirit being used in the strikes targeting the Houthis.

The nuclear-capable B-2 first saw action in 1999 in the Kosovo War, and has been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya as well. They are rarely used by the US military in combat as each aircraft is worth some $1 billion.

The B-2s flew to their targets from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, according to a report from Bloomberg. It marked the first time since January 2017 that the wing-shaped stealth bomber has flown a combat mission.

Each B-2 is capable of carrying up to 20 tons of bombs, including 80 500-pound GPS-guided munitions, the report added.

The US latest bombing raids come a day after the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned that the country was at risk of being dragged further into the military escalation in the Middle East.

While Yemenis “yearn” for peace, hopes for an end to escalating violence in the region “seem distant”, Grundberg told the UN Security Council.

“Now, like many in the Middle East, their hopes for a brighter future are falling under the shadow of potentially catastrophic regional conflagration,” he said.