US Says B2 Bombers Launched Precision Strikes Against Houthis in Yemen

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says strikes aimed at countering Houthis’ ‘destabilising behaviour’.

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.”

Austin 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”.