US has struck 1,000 Houthi targets under Trump, Pentagon says
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Yemeni soldiers stand amid the rubble as they inspect a damaged area after US airstrikes targeted a neighbourhood in Sana'a, Yemen.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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WASHINGTON – US forces have struck more than 1,000 targets in President Donald Trump’s campaign against Houthi militants in Yemen, the Pentagon said, offering rare insight into a stepped-up offensive that has been conducted largely in secret.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell disclosed the latest figure in an e-mail that touted the Pentagon’s accomplishments during Mr Trump’s first 100 days in office.
The strikes have killed “Houthi fighters and leaders, including senior Houthi missile and UAV officials” while “degrading their capabilities,” Mr Parnell said, using the acronym for unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Trump administration has been tight-lipped about the campaign against the Houthis, except to contend that it has been far more intense than strikes launched against the Iran-backed group by the Biden administration.
The US has targeted the Houthis since they began to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, US Central Command said the US has intentionally declined to disclose details to preserve operational security.
The aggressive campaign has stirred accusations that the US is not doing enough to avoid civilian casualties in the Yemen campaign, known as Operation Rough Rider.
The Yemen Data Project, a non-profit group that tracks the campaign, said earlier in April that the campaign had killed 500 civilians so far.
On April 18, Houthi-controlled health authorities said a US strike on a Yemen oil port
The strikes against the Houthis were the subject of a Signal group chat
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth came under sharp criticism after disclosing details of the impending Houthi attack plans in that chat and in a separate Signal group that included his wife and brother.
The chat revealed by Mr Goldberg also exposed divisions within the administration.
Vice-President J.D. Vance said he thought the strikes would be a mistake because only 3 per cent of US trade runs through the Suez Canal in contrast to 40 per cent of European trade. He said he hated “bailing Europe out again.”
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Mr Vance wrote.
Other conservatives have also come out against the campaign on the argument that it is draining stockpiles of munitions that should be kept in reserve in case of war with China or another adversary.
In 2024, well before Trump won re-election, the Heritage Foundation’s Mr Jim Fein argued that the US was running low, and the munitions would be better spent elsewhere.
“The US needs those munitions,” Mr Fein wrote. “The Houthis are a comparatively small, less advanced, and less lethal threat than China, yet they’ve proven to be a persistent problem for the US and its allies. If it takes hundreds of missiles to blunt Houthi attacks – with limited success – it will take even more to face the threat from China.” BLOOMBERG
