US carries out more strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen

The U.S. carried out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen for a second straight day Friday, two U.S. officials said, further involving the Biden administration in a Middle East fight that has split opinion in Washington.

The U.S., alongside four other countries, hit nearly 30 Houthi positions Thursday night after the Iran-backed militant group escalated its attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. President Joe Biden authorized the strikes designed to punish the Houthis and deter them from further threatening global trade.

The U.S. targeted a radar site that was missed in the first barrage, which the Biden administration feared could still threaten maritime traffic, one of the officials said. The U.S. attacked on its own.

The strike was conducted by the USS Carney using Tomahawk Land Attack missiles, U.S. Central Command said in a statement released later Friday.

The strikes were separate from the previous strikes conducted under Operation Prosperity Guardian, a defensive coalition of over 20 countries operating in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden, the statement said.

The decision will please critics of the Biden administration who argue the U.S. should use more force on the Houthis to send a message, but it will anger congressional Democrats and Republicans who believe the president required their approval before greenlighting the operation.

Biden on Friday formally notified Congress of the air and missile strikes, writing in a letter that they “were taken to deter and degrade Houthi capacity to conduct future attacks.”