World
The U.S. carried out its first air strike on Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen in retaliation to a missile attack that targeted a U.S. warship in the Red Sea on Sunday. The Pentagon said that the “limited, self-defense strikes,” which destroyed three radar sites controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, were aimed at safeguarding American personnel, ship and its right to freedom of navigation in the important maritime corridor.
U.S. has conducted a series of air strikes in Yemen against al-Qaeda militants in the past but the latest reprisal strike authorized directly by President Barack Obama was the first assault on the Houthis, reports The Guardian.
U.S. support to the Saudi-led multinational coalition has come under scrutiny after a recent air strike at a funeral hall in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, killed at least 140 people, writes the BBC. Although Saudi Arabia has denied conducting that air strike but reports suggest that the country has launched an inquiry into the attack.
A White House spokesman, Ned Price, earlier said that the Obama administration was reviewing its support to the Saudi-led coalition following the deeply disturbing strikes on civilians at the funeral, notes The Washington Post.
