Americans woke up Thursday to news that a U.S. Navy destroyer had launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at radar sites in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels, in retaliation for cruise missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
So who are the Houthis and why does the U.S. care?
Beyond launching cruise missile attacks on U.S. ships this week, Washington is concerned that as the civil war in Yemen rages, Shiite Houthi rebels could seize control of the country and disrupt shipping in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, a narrow waterway linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Since gathering strength in 2011, the Houthis have taken over large parts of Yemen, including its capital Sanaa, and last year drove its elected President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from the city.
Hadi escaped to Saudi Arabia, and called on the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait) to intervene militarily to restore Yemen’s legitimate government.
In many ways, the Yemen civil war is a classic Sunni-Shiite split.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, or Partisans of God, follow a Shiite version of Islam, as Iran does. Forces loyal to Hadi are Sunni Muslims, which tracks with beliefs held by Muslims in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of Arab countries trying to bomb the Houthis into submission, with little success to date. A negotiation for a cessation of hostilities agreement has also failed to take hold.
The Houthis appear to get some support from Iran, though how much is unclear. In April, the U.S. Navy intercepted an Iranian arms shipment in the Arabian Sea that it said was likely bound for Houthi fighters in Yemen.
The U.S. has focused it strikes in Yemen on what it sees as a more regional threat, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which opposes both the Houthis and Hadi.
The U.S. has supported the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s air war with logistical and intelligence support, but this week the U.S. said it is considering “adjusting” that support because of Saudi Arabia’s bombing of civilian targets such as hospitals and funerals.
Here is a rundown of the most recent action off Yemen:
Oct. 1: A cruise missile launched by Houthis strikes and severely damages the High Speed Vessel Swift off Yemen. The boat was privately built and used as a proof of concept for U.S. Military Sealift Command until it was leased by the United Arab Emirates.
Oct. 9: Two cruise missiles are fired at the destroyer USS Mason. The ship reportedly launches missiles and countermeasures. Neither of the Houthi-fired missiles strikes the ship and no one is injured.
Oct. 11: The U.S. says it is considering retaliatory strikes against Yemen. “Anybody who takes action, fires against U.S. Navy ships operating in international waters, does so at their own peril,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis says.
Oct. 12: One more cruise missile is fired on Mason, this one also falls harmlessly into the sea.
Oct. 13: The destroyer USS Nitze fires several Tomahawk cruise missiles at three radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. U.S. officials believe the sites are destroyed.
