Trump Has Quietly Been Hammering Yemen for Six Weeks

The U.S. military has been bombing Yemen for weeks on end, executing hundreds of strikes this month alone.

Why it matters: The standoff between American forces and Houthi rebels backed by Iran risks something President Trump promised to stamp out: endless war. In this case, though, it’s being waged almost entirely from the air and often with the help of drones.

State of play: A renewed campaign kicked off mid-March and hasn’t stopped since. U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations across the greater Middle East, has been boasting “24/7” coverage.

At least 680 strikes were conducted in March and April, according to data from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. Ras Isa oil port, on Yemen’s western coast, was among the most recent targets. The attack killed 74 people and injured many more, the Associated Press reported. Satellite imagery showed razed infrastructure and blast marks.
Yes, but: The Houthis survived years of attacks from a Saudi-led coalition backed by the U.S. and U.K. The Yemen Data Project logged more than 25,000 air raids in seven years, beginning in 2015.

What they’re saying: The Houthis continue “to amplify reports of civilian casualties, using them as a rallying cry to boost recruitment and bolster domestic support,” Mohammad Al-Basha of the advisory Basha Report told Axios. Without “sustained ground operations to reclaim territory from Houthi control,” he added, the militant group “will eventually be able to recover from their current losses — replenishing their ranks, regrouping, and rebuilding their capabilities.”

Zoom in: There are now two U.S. aircraft carriers, the Harry S. Truman and the Carl Vinson, in the CENTCOM region. Footage shared on social media shows Super Hornet, Growler and Hawkeye warplanes in action Stealthy B-2 bombers were also spotted at Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean.

Threat level: The Houthis have shot down a handful of MQ-9 Reaper drones since early March, according to Fox News and The War Zone. Each costs tens of millions of dollars. The rebels have also choked the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles and explosive unmanned vehicles. Bill LaPlante, then the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, in November told Axios the Houthi arsenal was growing increasingly sophisticated.

What we’re watching: Whether the Pentagon provides another public briefing to offer more details about the operation. The last time officials took to the podium was March 17.

Originally published in Axios.