Biden says US will continue Houthi strikes, although group undeterred

\President Joe Biden said US air strikes against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen will continue even though they have not halted the group’s attacks on Red Sea shipping. 

“Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday when asked if the American and British bombardment campaign has been effective.

The US military launched another barrage against anti-ship missiles that were prepared to fire on Red Sea targets, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said later Thursday. 

Thursday marked the fifth time US forces targeted Houthi-controlled sites inside Yemen, as violence in the Middle East sparked by the Israel-Hamas war has grown into a regional conflagration. 

The strikes targeted two missiles that were loaded and prepared for launch and were successful in destroying them, according to a US official who requested anonymity to share more details.

Kirby said the bombings of Houthi targets would go on “as long as they need to continue” and argued they “are making it harder for them to continue to propagate these attacks.”

The Houthis are taking “concrete steps” to improve their military capabilities and the group is now in a direct military confrontation with the US, UK and Israel, Houthi chief Abdul Malik al-Houthi said Thursday in a televised address.

“We’re not looking for a conflict with the Houthis. We’re not looking for a conflict in the region,” Kirby said. 

The strikes followed the Biden administration’s announcement Wednesday that it would place the Houthis back on a global terrorism list, an effort to cut off the group’s ability to fund its attacks that have disrupted shipping in a crucial trade artery. The move unwound Biden’s prior decision to remove the Houthis’ terror designations in order to ensure humanitarian aid flowed to Yemen after years of civil war.