US B-2 bombers strike Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen

The US carried out a round of strikes in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthis on Wednesday evening, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, targeting five underground weapons storage facilities using B-2 stealth bombers.

The facilities housed advanced conventional weapons used to target military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, three US defense officials told CNN following the attack.

“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 in a statement. “The employment of US Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrates U.S. global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere.”

It marked the first time the US has used the strategic stealth bomber to attack the Houthis in Yemen since the beginning of the US campaign. The B-2 is a much larger platform than the fighter jets that have been used so far to target Houthi facilities and weapons, capable of carrying a far heavier load of bombs.

Austin said he authorized the strikes at the direction of President Joe Biden in order to “further degrade” the Houthis’ abilities after more than a year of attacks by the militant group on US and international vessels in the region. The facilities attacked were holding “various weapons components” of weapons used to target vessels in the Middle East, the defense secretary said.

Read more: CNN