US Launches Airstrikes on Military Targets of Houthis in Yemen

Smoke rises after US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

US Launches Airstrikes on Military Targets of Houthis in Yemen

Smoke rises after US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)

The US military has launched airstrikes targeting military facilities belonging to Yemen's Houthi militias in capital Sanaa.

US Navy ships and aircraft targeted a Houthi command and control facility and advanced conventional weapon production and storage facilities that included missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles, the Central Command said.

It said the facilities that were hit were used in attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. US Navy and Air Force aircraft also destroyed a Houthi coastal radar site, seven cruise missiles and UAVs over the Red Sea, it said.

The Houthis have been firing drones and missiles at Israel, as well as attacking shipping in the Red Sea corridor — attacks they say won’t stop until Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis' media office said Tuesday that 10 airstrikes hit the May 22 facility in Sanaa’s northern Thurah district and two more hit the Aradi facility, which houses the militias’ so-called defense ministry in central Sanaa.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthi chief negotiator and spokesman, called the strikes “a gross violation of the sovereignty of an independent state.”



Syria Unable to Import Wheat or Fuel Due to US Sanctions, Trade Minister Says

Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
TT

Syria Unable to Import Wheat or Fuel Due to US Sanctions, Trade Minister Says

Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)

Syria is unable to make deals to import fuel, wheat or other key goods due to strict US sanctions and despite many countries wanting to do so, Syria's new trade minister said.

In an interview with Reuters at his office in Damascus, Maher Khalil al-Hasan said Syria's new ruling administration had managed to scrape together enough wheat and fuel for a few months but the country faces a "catastrophe" if sanctions are not frozen or lifted soon.

Hasan is a member of the new caretaker government set up by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group after it launched a lightning offensive that toppled autocratic President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 after 13 years of civil war.

The sanctions were imposed during Assad's rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank.

Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria's wheat and oil products but both stopped doing so after the opposition factions triumphed and Assad fled to Moscow.

The US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime, people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The exact impact of the expected measures remains to be seen.

The decision by the outgoing Biden administration aims to send a signal of goodwill to Syria's people and its new rulers, and pave the way for improving basic services and living conditions in the war-ravaged country.

Washington wants to see Damascus embark on an inclusive political transition and to cooperate on counterterrorism and other matters.

Hasan told Reuters he was aware of reports that some sanctions may soon be eased or frozen.