WASHINGTON – U.S. fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier struck three underground storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen late Friday, according to a U.S. official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a military operation not yet made public, said the ship is in the Red Sea.
Strikes and explosions were seen and heard in Sanaa on Friday night, according to witnesses and videos, some circulating on social media. Footage showed explosions and smoke rising over the Houthi-controlled capital.
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There was no official confirmation of the injured or the origin of the explosions. Yemeni TV station Al-Masirah, which is linked to the Houthis, reported strikes hitting the city.
In a statement late Friday, U.S. Central Command said its forces also destroyed four unmanned aerial vehicles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
Central Command also said Houthis fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles toward the Red Sea, but no injuries or damage were reported by U.S., coalition or commercial ships.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which are allied with Iran and control much of the country’s north and west, have launched a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, which the rebels describe as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have kept up their campaign of attacks despite two months of U.S.-led airstrikes.