Humbling a Goliath: US-Led ‘No-Fail’ Mission Against the Houthis is Failing

©Photo : Julia Casper, Defense Imagery Management Operations Center

The US established a maritime ‘coalition of the willing’ in the Red Sea in December 2023 and began bombing Yemen in January in response to the Houthis’ bid to shut down Israeli-affiliated commercial traffic through the waterway in solidarity with Palestine. The Houthis have vowed to continue their operations until the carnage in Gaza stops.

The US-led military campaign in the Red Sea which the Pentagon wanted to make into a “no-fail mission” has turned into a modern-day David vs. Goliath PR disaster, with the powerful American naval and air might arrayed against the Houthis proving unable to stop militia attacks or reopen the Red Sea to shipping, US business media has reported.

“The gray F/A-18 fighter jets hurtled one by one from the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower into the heat of the Red Sea morning, scrambling to counter the latest attack drone launched by the Houthis. The $56 million aircraft were part of a coalition operation that nullified the attack, returning hours later as they have almost daily for the last several months,” Bloomberg wrote in a report Wednesday highlighting the difficulties the West has faced trying to stop Ansar Allah.

“Yet for all the costly hardware the US and its allies have thrown at the Islamist group from northwest Yemen, they haven’t been able to stop the attacks on civilian freighters and warships. As a result, the world’s biggest shipping companies are still largely avoiding a route that once carried 15% of global commerce,” the outlet lamented.

Rear Admiral Marc Miguez, commander of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier-led American armada operating in the Red Sea, said that while the US has “reduced some” of the Houthis’ missile and drone capability through strikes, there’s no way to predict when the fleet’s “job” in the region will be done, since estimates on Houthi missile numbers are “kind of a black hole for the US intelligence-wise.”

Shipping firms and companies impacted by the Red Sea crisis are even less optimistic.

“It’s quite a binary situation,” Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen explained earlier this month. “It is either safe for our people or it is not. As long as it is not safe, we will not send our people through the Red Sea.” Jansen didn’t rule out the Houthi blockade could last throughout the rest of the year and into 2025.

A Western official predicted that the Houthis will be able to continue their blockade at its current intensity for “months” to come. Others accused the Houthis of getting help from outside via Iran, including everything from weapons components to sea mine-laying specialists. Iran has “categorically” denied providing any military or weapons assistance to the Houthis.

“[The Houthis] don’t create inertial navigation systems. They don’t create medium-range ballistic missile engines. They don’t create the stage separations on these medium-range ballistic missiles or the anti-ship cruise missiles,” US Central Command commander Gen. Michael Kurilla told a Senate hearing earlier this month, accusing Ansar Allah of getting help from outside, and ignoring the vast stocks of Soviet-era ballistic, cruise and air defense missile technologies which the Houthis have inherited and upgraded since 2014.

Unable to stop the Houthis at sea, Western officials have rejected any talk of a ground operation against the militia, warning that if the group escalates its targeting of Western warships, the coalition may respond by assassinating Houthi leaders.

An anonymous US military official told Bloomberg that the US is on the “wrong side of the cost curve” in the Red Sea campaign, whose economic costs are starting to add up.

While the Houthis can build and launch simple ballistic and cruise missiles or drones at a cost of thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, the anti-missile interceptors US warships launch to take down militia threats are costing US taxpayers up to hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece, with F/A-18 jets costing the Navy $25,000 or more per hour to operate (not counting whatever munitions they happen to expend during their mission).

The Houthis’ campaign of ship seizures, missile and drone attacks have caused commercial traffic through the southern Red Sea to drop by about 70 percent in March compared to early December, with container shipping reportedly down 90 percent, gas tanker flow halting almost completely, and Israel’s main Red Sea port forced to lay off half of its workforce.

Ansar Allah began its partial blockade of the Red Sea in November with the seizure of the Galaxy Leader, an Israeli billionaire-owned ro-ro car carrier, expanding operations to target not only Israeli, but US and British commercial vessels and warships after the pair of nations began a campaign of airstrikes against Yemen in January. Last month, the militia warned European countries setting up their own maritime security operations in the Red Sea that “any idiocy you commit will affect your ships and navigation.” Major European shipping companies including Maersk has said they would continue to avoid the Red Sea in spite of the EU’s security mission.

Russian Forces Hit Assembly and Storage Sites of Ukrainian Drones

©Sputnik/Stanislav Krasilnikov/Go to the mediabank

Russian units struck assembly and storage sites of Ukrainian UAVs, the Ministry of Defense reported.

"Using operational-tactical aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops, and artillery units of the Russian Armed Forces, strikes were delivered on assembly and storage sites of unmanned aerial vehicles," the summary said.

Additionally, enemy personnel and equipment were successfully targeted in 136 areas. In turn, air defense systems destroyed 210 Ukrainian drones and shot down 21 HIMARS and Vampire MLRS projectiles in the special military operation zone.

Meanwhile, Russian forces repelled nine Ukrainian counterattacks in the Avdeyevka vicinity during the past 24 hours, with Kiev’s military casualties reaching 255 troops.

"The enemy lost up to 255 servicemen, two infantry fighting vehicles, and six cars. Also, during counter-battery combat, the self-propelled artillery unit M109 Paladin of US production, the howitzer M777 of US production, as well as the self-propelled artillery unit "Carnation," were hit," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Ukraine also lost 220 soldiers and two tanks in the Donetsk region.

Watch Tula Paratroopers Disrupt Ukrainian Armed Forces Rotation Near Soledar

The 9K111 Fagot is an anti-tank missile system designed to engage and destroy various armored vehicles, including main battle tanks. The Fagot system consists of a portable shoulder-mounted launcher and a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead missile.

Russian paratroopers have disrupted a rotation of Ukrainian forces by destroying a group of enemy infantry with a Fagot anti-tank missile system in the Razdolovka area north of Soledar, footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry shows.

"The detachment of the Fagot anti-tank missile system of the Tula Airborne Troops destroyed a group of infantry of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with a guided missile, thus disrupting their rotation in the direction of Seversk near the village of Razdolovka," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

It was specified that to the north of Soledar, scouts of the Tula paratroopers detected a group of up to 10 Ukrainian infantry approaching a forward positions for rotation.

Watch Artillery Crews of Russian Airborne Troops Strike Ukrainian Positions

Russia’s Airborne Troops are an elite branch of the Russian Army responsible for conducting airborne assault operations, special missions, and rapid deployment. They provide rapid response and flexibility in military operations.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing artillery crews of Battlegroup Dnepr Airborne Troops firing a salvo of missiles at Ukrainian Armed Forces positions.

The strikes hit the Ukrainian troop group precisely, the ministry added.

Russia’s Airborne Troops undergo rigorous physical and tactical training, mastering parachute and airborne techniques to be prepared for a wide range of missions. Their expertise in air assault operations and special missions makes them a valuable asset in maintaining national security and ensuring the defense of their country.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it launched dozens of rockets after Israeli strikes

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it launched dozens of rockets after Israeli strikes A Lebanese militant organisation closely linked to Palestinian group Hamas said seven people were killed in an overnight strike in south Lebanon. (File/AFP)

Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it launched dozens of rockets at Kiryat Shmona, an Israeli town over the border, early on Wednesday in response to deadly Israeli strikes on the village of Hebbariyeh in southern Lebanon a day earlier.

The U.S.-backed Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire across the border since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza, in the biggest escalation between the old enemies since a month-long conflict in 2006.

Both sides have said they do not want all-out war and are open to a diplomatic process but strikes, have picked up this week after a lull in cross-border shelling.

The U.S.-backed Israel emergency services said a rocket strike on Wednesday killed a factory worker in Kiryat Shmona following warning signs in the area.

Paramedics from the MDA ambulance service said the man was pulled from the wreckage of the factory with severe wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

At least seven people were killed in the Israeli strikes on Hebbariyeh, two Lebanese security sources told Reuters.

The Israeli strikes appeared to be aimed at the Islamist group’s emergency and relief center in the village, the sources said.

Hezbollah earlier on Wednesday had condemned the strikes on Habbariyeh. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon had already killed more than a half dozen medical personnel and rescue workers, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The Gaza war has spread beyond the enclave’s borders to other parts of the Middle East.

Aside from tensions between Israel and Hamas’ ally Hezbollah, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships in and around the Red Sea, and armed groups in Iraq with close ties to Tehran have attacked bases hosting US forces in that country.

Hezbollah earlier on Wednesday had condemned the strikes on Habbariyeh. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon had already killed more than a half dozen medical personnel and rescue workers, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. On Tuesday, Israeli air strikes near two towns in northeast Lebanon killed three Hezbollah militants, the group posted on Telegram. Israel confirmed those strikes.

Russia Deems US Position on Probe Into Crocus Terrorist Attack as 'Biased' - Foreign Ministry

©Sputnik/Russian Foreign Ministry/Go to the mediabank

Russia considers the position of the United States on the investigation into the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow as "biased," Washington is trying to "put Ukraine out of harm's way," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

On Tuesday, Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov said the first information received from suspects in the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack proved a Ukrainian trace. He added that, while radical Islamists had prepared the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall, the Ukrainian special forces were involved. The Western intelligence and Ukraine needed the attack to create panic in Russian society, Bortnikov also said, adding that the mastermind behind the terrorist attack has not been identified yet.

"They exposed themselves. They also started screaming, not calling for an investigation, but began to put Ukraine out of harm's way. Their bias and involvement in this story are obvious. If it had not been there, the first statements would have been what they should have been, namely about the need for investigation, probe, presentation of facts," Zakharova stressed.

A shooting occurred last Friday in the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the city of Krasnogorsk, just outside Moscow, followed by a massive fire. A Sputnik correspondent who witnessed the attack reported that a number of gunmen in camouflage broke into the music hall, shooting people point-blank and throwing incendiary bombs. The Russian Investigative Committee said that at least 139 people were killed as a result of the terrorist attack.

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said last Friday that there were no indications pointing to the involvement of Ukraine or Ukrainian nationals in the attack on the Crocus City Hall.

Moscow slams ‘mother of all fakes’

A recent Bloomberg article claiming that some people in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s own inner circle do not believe Ukraine was involved in the terrorist attack at the Crocus City concert hall is the “mother of all fakes,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

FILE PHOTO
©Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich

On the evening of March 22, a group of armed gunmen attacked the Crocus City Hall venue outside Moscow. Over 130 people died and another 200 were injured.

The news agency wrote on Tuesday that “there’s no evidence of involvement by Ukraine, according to four people with close ties to the Kremlin.

It claimed that Putin was present at discussions “where officials agreed” that there is no link to Kiev, but “remains determined to use the tragedy to try to rally Russians behind the war in Ukraine.” Bloomberg cited “one person with knowledge of the situation, asking not to be identified” as their source.

Zakharova blasted the report, writing on Telegram on Tuesday: “A masterpiece of news. Just the mother of all fakes.”

Yes,Bloomberg is a media that blows up fake news for US interests.

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev and the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, had commented that Ukraine may have been involved in the attack. Bortnikov also pointed to the potential role of the US and UK.

A group calling itself Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) has taken responsibility for the massacre. The US and EU insist that no one else could be to blame, denying that Ukraine had anything to do with the act of terrorism. Over the weekend, the Russian authorities arrested several suspects, including four directly involved in the attack.

The latter, all of whom are nationals of Tajikistan, attempted to escape by car. The FSB head said it is currently believed that they were expected in Ukraine, and that the Ukrainian side may have been preparing to open a “window” to allow them to cross the border.

Rafah bombing intensifies despite UN truce call

In an overnight bombing by Israeli forces on a house in Rafah, eighteen individuals tragically lost their lives, with nine of them being children.

Additionally, Israeli shelling in the Nassr neighbourhood, situated northeast of Rafah, has resulted in further casualties.

These attacks have struck Gaza's southern district, where over 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are attempting to shelter, despite a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, marking the first such resolution passed during the nearly six-month-long conflict, Al Jazeera reports.

The Israeli military's operations extend to Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where raids have resulted in the seizure of weapons and military equipment, as well as the elimination of fighters and destruction of infrastructure.

Notably, Israeli forces have been engaged in significant operations around al-Shifa Hospital and in Khan Younis. Despite international calls for a cessation of hostilities, Israeli strikes persist, particularly targeting residential areas near Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital, where clashes continue following a siege lasting over a week.

The Israeli military has conducted airstrikes on over 60 targets across Gaza, primarily in support of ground operations, according to statements from the Israeli army. These targets included attack tunnels and buildings where combatants were believed to be present.

Israeli forces are said to have struck launch sites in northern Gaza, from where rockets were launched towards the southern Israeli city of Sderot.

Moreover, Israeli forces continue to shell other areas in northern Gaza, including Beit Hanoun, eastern Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya, as reported Al Jazeera Arabic.

Horrific accounts as Israel continues attacks from north to south

Israel is ramping up its military attacks, in particular here in Rafah. Over the past couple of hours, we have been recording multiple air strikes that targeted three residential houses.

This shows that Rafah is no longer safe for more than 1.5 million Palestinians displaced here.

Attacks continued elsewhere in Gaza as well, including Jabalia refugee camp.

There have been horrific eyewitness accounts of Palestinians trying to flee Israel’s ongoing siege of al-Shifa Hospital, reporting that the forces destroyed much of the area, turning it into a graveyard. Some families are still trapped there after more than a week, living in unbearable conditions.

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Dramatic Video Maryland Bridge Collapse After Ship Hits Francis Scott Key Bridge

A massive freight ship stacked high with containers smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore early on Tuesday, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.

Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one of whom was hospitalized, and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge metal spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the icy water at around 1:30 a.m.

The ship reported a power issue and officials halted the flow of traffic on the bridge between the mayday call and the collision, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a briefing.

"By being able to stop cars from coming over the bridge, these people are heroes. They saved lives last night," he said.

Eight people were on the bridge at the time and six remained unaccounted for, the state's transportation secretary said hours after the collision, which closed one of the busiest ports in the United States.

The preliminary investigation pointed to an accident, Moore said, and there were no credible reports of terrorism.

Ship traffic was suspended at the Port of Baltimore until further notice. It is the busiest U.S. port for car shipments, handling more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to port data.

The closure of one of the U.S. East Coast's major ports threatens to disrupt supplies of goods from cars, to coal and other commodities like sugar. It could create bottlenecks and increase delays and costs on the Eastern seaboard, experts say. The port handles the most car imports and is among the largest for coal exports.

The 948-foot (288.95 m) vessel, as long as three football pitches placed end to end, had experienced a momentary loss of propulsion and dropped anchors as part of emergency procedures before impact, its management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd reported, according to the Singapore Port Authority.

The Dali, owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, collided with one of the pillars of the bridge, according to manager Synergy. All 22 crew members aboard the Singapore-flagged vessel were accounted for, it said

AFTER MIDNIGHT

The U.S. Coast Guard reported the collapse at 1:27 a.m. (0627 GMT) and it deployed crews for an active search and rescue mission after the Singapore-flagged container ship forced the trellis-like bridge up into a mangled mass of metal. Jayme Krause, 32, was working a night shift on shore when the cart of packages in front of her shook violently at around 2 a.m. in what sounded like an intense thunderstorm.

A coworker at an Amazon logistics facility told her the bridge had collapsed and she ran out to look.

"I went over there, and sure as anything, it was gone, the whole bridge was just like, there was nothing there," she told Reuters. "It was a shocking sight to see." She did not see anyone in the water, nor hear any cries for help from where she stood at the bay.

Work crews had been repairing potholes on the bridge at the time of the collapse and sonar detected vehicles under the water, which was about 50 feet deep at that point, said Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland Secretary of Transportation.

The bridge was up to code and there were no known structural issues, Moore said. President Joe Biden was being briefed on the collision, the White House said.

The Francis Scott Key bridge was the main thoroughfare for drivers between New York and Washington who sought to avoid downtown Baltimore. It was one of three ways to cross the Baltimore Harbor, with a traffic volume of 31,000 cars per day or 11.3 million vehicles a year.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described a scene of twisted metal shooting into the sky. "It was something out of an action movie. It was something you never thought you'd see," he said.

A live video posted on YouTube showed the ship ploughing into the bridge in darkness. The headlights of vehicles could be seen on the bridge as it crashed into the water and the ship caught fire.

The same ship was involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016, when it hit a quay as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal.

RARE EVENT

Tuesday's disaster may be the worst U.S. bridge collapse since 2007 when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13.

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to investigate. Moore, the governor, declared a state of emergency to quickly deploy federal resources to deal with the emergency. The FBI in Baltimore said on X its personnel were on the scene.

The Dali was chartered by shipping company Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), opens new tab at the time of the incident, the Danish company said in a statement.

"We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected," Maersk said. Baltimore port's private and public terminals handled 847,158 autos and light trucks in 2023, the most of any U.S. port. The port also handles farm and construction machinery, sugar, gypsum and coal, according to a Maryland government website.

The port handles imports and exports for major automakers including Nissan, Toyota, General Motors, Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover and the Volkswagen group - including luxury models for Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley.

General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab and Ford Motor (F.N), opens new tab will reroute affected shipments, but the companies said the impact will be minimal.

More than 40 ships remained inside Baltimore port including small cargo ships, tug boats and pleasure craft, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed. At least 30 other ships had signalled their destination was Baltimore, the data showed.

The bridge, named after Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner, opened in 1977.