US carries out fresh strikes on Yemen taking out four Houthi anti-ship missiles that jihadists were preparing to launch.

The US carried out four fresh strikes on Yemen on Tuesday targeting anti-ship ballistic missiles used by the Houthi rebels.
The Yemeni rebels were preparing to use the facility to continue their attacks against western ships on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to US officials. 
'The US conducted self-defense strikes against four Houthi ballistic missiles that posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships,' a US official told AFP.
It's the latest US military's latest move against the Iran-aligned group over its targeting of Red Sea shipping after it declared war on the US over its support of Israel in the war against Hamas.
The strikes came a day after the Yemeni rebels attacked a US cargo ship on Monday.
US Central command said Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired the anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and struck the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and operated container ship.
Shell announced on Tuesday it would be suspending all its Red Sea shipments following the attack.
A tanker chartered by Shell carrying Indian jet fuel was last month targeted by the jihadists. The vessel was attacked by a drone and harassed by rebel boats.
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have continued even after the US and Britain last week launched an initial wave of strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities.
But unlike the initial US strikes last week, which were against pre-planned targets, Tuesday's strikes appeared to show that the US military would proactively go after Houthi military capabilities as they are detected. If confirmed, that would usher in a far more assertive posture for the U.S. military toward the Houthis.

 

Central Command on Monday disclosed the first seizure in more than four years of advanced Iranian-manufactured ballistic missile and cruise missile components, in a January 11 operation that saw two Navy SEALs lost at sea near the coast of Somali.
'Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea,' Central Command said in a statement.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have claimed their attacks on commercial ships are aimed at supporting the Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza. Their attacks have disrupted global shipping and stoked fears of global inflation. They have also deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.
The Houthi movement has vowed to keep up attacks despite the strikes last week against radar and missile capabilities. Some experts believe they welcome a conflict with the United States and its allies.
On Sunday, Houthi fire went in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement.
The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the US said.
The Houthis have been attacking commercial ship sin the Red Sea which they claim are headed to Israel as they aim to support Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.
A US fighter jet blasted the Houthi cruise missile out of the sky over the Red Sea on Sunday before it was able to hit its target, the USS Laboon.
Rebels were seen posing with machine guns and rocket launchers in photos released Sunday. Fighters were also photographed earlier in the weekend conducting drills and recording themselves in terrain made to resemble Jewish settlements.
The United States military and its allies began airstrikes on Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthi fire on Sunday went in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, Central Command said.
The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis. 'An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon,' Central Command said.
'There were no injuries or damage reported.' The first day of US-led strikes on Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs.
Sites hit included weapon depots, radars and command centers, including in remote mountain areas.
The Houthis have yet to acknowledge how severe the infrastructure damage was from the strikes, which they said killed five of their troops and wounded six others.
But two officials told the New York Times on Sunday they still have about 75 percent of their ability to fire missiles and drones at ships transiting the Red Sea.
This is despite the US and its allies claiming to have damaged or destroyed about 90 percent of the targets struck.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12970275/US-h-strikes-Yemen-houthis.html

 On This Date In History

On January 16, 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes,” is ratified by the requisite number of states.
The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, these groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for total national abstinence. In December 1917, the 18th Amendment, also known as the Prohibition Amendment, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
Nine months after Prohibition's ratification, Congress passed the Volstead Act, or National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of prohibition, including the creation of a special unit of the Treasury Department. One year and a day after its ratification, prohibition went into effect, on January 17, 1920, and the nation became officially dry.
Despite a vigorous effort by law-enforcement agencies, the Volstead Act failed to prevent the large-scale distribution of alcoholic beverages, and organized crime flourished in America. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, repealing prohibition.

 

 

 

 

 

 On January 16, 1991, at midnight in Iraq, the United Nations deadline for the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait expires, and the Pentagon prepares to commence offensive operations to forcibly eject Iraq from its five month occupation of its oil rich neighbor.
At 4:30 p.m. EST, the first fighter aircraft were launched from Saudi Arabia and off U.S. and British aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf on bombing missions over Iraq. All evening, aircraft from the U.S. led military coalition pounded targets in and around Baghdad as the world watched the events transpire in television footage transmitted live via satellite from Baghdad and elsewhere. At 7:00 p.m., Operation Desert Storm, the code name for the massive U.S. led offensive against Iraq, was formally announced at the White House.
The operation was conducted by an international coalition under the command of U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf and featured forces from 32 nations, including Britain, Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. During the next six weeks, the allied force engaged in a massive air war against Iraq’s military and civil infrastructure, and encountered little effective resistance from the Iraqi air force or air defenses. Iraqi ground forces were helpless during this stage of the war, and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s only significant retaliatory measure was the launching of SCUD missile attacks against Israel and Saudi Arabia. Saddam hoped that the missile attacks would provoke Israel to enter the conflict, thus dissolving Arab support of the war. At the request of the United States, however, Israel remained out of the war.
On February 24, a massive coalition ground offensive began, and Iraq’s outdated and poorly supplied armed forces were rapidly overwhelmed. Kuwait was liberated in less than four days, and a majority of Iraq’s armed forces surrendered, retreated into Iraq, or were destroyed. On February 28, President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire, and Iraq pledged to honor future coalition and U.N. peace terms. One hundred and twenty-five American soldiers were killed in the Persian Gulf War, with another 21 regarded as missing in action.
On March 20, 2003, a second war between Iraq and a U.S. led coalition began, this time with the stated U.S. objective of removing Saddam Hussein from power and, ostensibly, finding and destroying the country’s weapons of mass destruction. Hussein was captured by a U.S. military unit on December 13, 2003 and was executed three years later.