Biden says US strikes against Houthi rebels will continue as bombardment has yet to deter militants

President Joe Biden says U.S. military strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen will continue, but he acknowledges that U.S. and British bombardment has not yet stopped the militants’ attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Thursday that U.S. military strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen will continue, but acknowledged that the U.S. and British bombardment has not yet stopped the militants’ ship attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Biden said the US would continue strikes in exchanges with reporters before leaving the White House for a domestic policy speech in North Carolina.

“If you say work, they will stop the Houthis, no. Will they continue, yes,” Biden said.

The US military launched another wave of ship and submarine missile attacks on Houthi-controlled locations on Wednesday. This is the fourth time in days that it has directly attacked the group in Yemen as violence emerged in the aftermath of the war between Israel and Hamas. continues to spread in the Middle East.

The strikes were launched from the Red Sea and hit fourteen missiles that the command considered an “imminent threat.”

The strikes followed an official announcement Wednesday that the US has placed the Houthis back on the list of specially designated global terrorists. The sanctions that come with the formal designation are intended to disconnect violent extremist groups from their sources of funding.