Yemen’s Houthis launch missiles at US fighter jet

Yemen’s Houthis launched surface-to-air missiles at an American fighter jet and an MQ-9 Reaper drone last week but didn’t hit either, US defense officials told Al Arabiya English.

Officials who spoke to Al Arabiya English said that the Trump administration was reviewing options for countering Houthi attacks.

Fox News was first to report about last week’s attacks.

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The Trump administration redesignated Yemen’s Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), reversing the Biden administration’s decision to revoke the designation. Trump originally made the decision in his final days of office during his first term.

The Executive Order signed by Trump said that US policy was now “to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate Houthi capabilities and operations, deprive it of resources, and thereby end its attacks on US personnel and civilians, US partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea.”

The Houthis have targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.

With agencies

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