Yemen’s Houthis likely to be persistent problem for US: senior military official

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement will likely be a persistent problem for the US in the future, a senior US military official said on Tuesday, after Washington and the Houthis reached an agreement last month that ended a US air campaign against the group.

“The Houthis are likely to be a persistent problem we'll be dealing with in the future a few times,” air force Lt-Gen Alexus Grynkewich, director for operations of the joint staff, told legislators. Grynkewich has been nominated to lead the US military's European command.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced the US would stop bombing the Houthis, who had been firing at US warships and commercial vessels off Yemen's coast. The group, which said it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's military campaign in Gaza, stopped firing at US ships under the agreement.

Rights groups voiced concerns about civilian casualties during the nearly two-month US bombing campaign in Yemen.

Last week, the Houthis said they would again target US ships in the Red Sea if Washington became involved in Israeli attacks on Iran. However they have not resumed attacks after the US struck three Iranian nuclear facilities at the weekend.

On Monday Trump announced an Israel-Iran ceasefire deal.

Reuters