Use blows in Yemen burning through limited successful ammunition

Trump president he said this week That the Houthi militants supported by Iran in Yemen were “decimated by the incessant strikes” which he ordered from March 15th.

But that’s not what the Pentagon and military officials privately say the congress and allied countries.

In the briefing closed in the last few days, the Pentagon officials have recognized that there has been only a limited success in destroying the Vasto, largely arsenal underground of missiles, drones and launchers, according to the assistants and allies of the congress.

The officials informed on the assessments of the confidential damage say that the bombing is constantly heavier than the strikes conducted by the Biden Administration and much larger than the defense department has publicly described.

But the Houthi fighters, known for their resilience, have strengthened many of their bunkers and other targeted sites, frustrating the ability of the Americans to stop The missionistic attacks of the militia against commercial ships in the Red SeaAccording to three congress officials and allies, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational issues.

In just three weeks, the Pentagon used ammunition for a value of $ 200 million, in addition to the immense operating costs and staff to distribute two aircraft carriers, additional B-2 bombers and combat jets, as well as aerial defenses of Patriot and Thaad in the Middle East, said the officials.

The total cost could be over $ 1 billion within the next week and the Pentagon may soon need to request additional funds from the congress, said an American official.

So many precision ammunition are used, in particular the long -range advanced ones, that some Pentagon emergency planners are worrying about the overall vessels of the Navy and the implications for any situation in which the United States should have averted an attempt to invasion of Taiwan by China.

The strikes of the United States, which the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has appointed the Rough Rider operation after the troops Theodore Roosevelt led to Cuba during the Spanish-American war, probably could continue for six months, said the officials.

A high Pentagon official at the end of Thursday rejected the assessments described by the officials of the congress and allies.

The official elderly, also speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational issues, said that the air attacks have passed their goal in the initial phase of the campaign, interrupting the ability of Houthi’s leaders to communicate, limiting the group’s response to a handful of ineffective checks and establishing the conditions for the subsequent phases, which has refused to discuss. “We are on the right way,” said the official.

US officials said the strikes had damaged the Houthis control and control structure. Tulsi Gabbard, director of the National Honel, said in a declaration that the strikes had been “effective” in killing the best leaders Houthi, who did not identify, and said that the operation was reopening the shipment of the Red Sea.

“The assessments of the intelligence community confirm that these strikes killed the best Houthi leaders and destroyed several structures that Houthi can use to produce advanced conventional weapons,” said Gabbard.

The strikes are at the center of A debacle By involving Mr. Hegseth and other senior members of the Trump administration, in which those officials discussed sensitive details on the initial bombing raids in Yemen on March 15 in a group chat on a commercial messaging app. Michael Waltz, the national security councilor, created the group but accidentally added a journalist.

Trump administration officials say that air and naval strikes are intended to press pressure on the Houthi to stop the attacks they have interrupted international shipping lanes in the Red Sea for more than a year.

The Biden administration carried out strikes against the Houthi, but on a smaller scale and mainly against the infrastructures and military sites. Trump administration officials say that current strikes also have the aim of killing high Houthi officials.

“Everyone should recognize that we are doing a great favor in the world to chase these guys, because this cannot continue,” said the secretary of state Marco Rubio to journalists last week.

The Trump administration did not say because you think that its campaign against the group will be successful after the annual effort of the Biden administration is not largely failed to discourage the attacks of Houthi, who also targeted Israel.

“The Administration must also explain to the Congress and the American people its planned path given the failure of previous efforts of this type,” wrote the senators Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky in a letter To Mr. Trump this week.

The Pentagon did not provide details on the attacks From 17 MarchWhen he said that more than 30 targets Houthi had been hit on the first day.

A spokesman for the central command of the army declared on March 24 that the Strikes had “destroyed commands and controlled structures, air defense systems, weapons production systems and advanced weapons storage positions”.

A high official of the Department of Defense declared Thursday in response to the questions of the New York Times: “We have already started seeing the effects of the heavy attacks against the Houthi. For example, the Balistic Missilistic attacks by the Houthi against Israel have come down in the last week”.

The Houthi, the Older Officer, said: “They are becoming increasingly reactive as the US air attacks degrade their ability and ability”.

The official elderly, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational issues, denied that the pentagon briefs had told the officials of the congress and ally that the strikes could last six months, stating that the period of time “was never discussed”.

Central Command Posts images On social media of jets that lead missions against the Houthi, but has repeatedly refused to reveal how many objectives have been affected so far or to identify the numerous commanders Houthi, including one of the best missile experts, claims to have killed.

The videos published on social media by Central Command show that the types of long ray navy weapons f/a-18 Super Hornets have unleashed in Yemen. They include AGM-154-A planata bomb led by the GPS-and cruise missiles launched in the air.

Glide bombs, which bring 200 kilos of explosives each, can be launched more than 70 nautical miles from their goals. The cruise missiles deployed by navy war planes can fly more than double.

They are among the longer ranging weapons that the Navy war planes have available in this type of operation and have been used together with the Tomahawk cruise missiles fired by war ships that accompany.

The use of these long -haul weapons is in direct response to the threat represented by the weapons of defense of the air of Houthis, which have reduced several US military drones in the area. The US commanders involved in Asia-Pacific planning see them as fundamental for any potential conflict with China.

The United States started the new offensive on March 15 in some parts of the northern Yemen controlled by the Houthi. The attack planes of the Navy from the Jets of Truman and Air Force fighters, flying from the bases in the Middle East, conducted strikes against Houthi objectives every day since then, said the US officials and Yemenites.

The initial strikes were the saving of opening in what the high American officials said was a new offensive against the militants and a message to Iran while Trump is looking for a nuclear agreement with his government.

The Pentagon has moved Patriot and Thaad Air Defense Systems to some Arab nations that are worried about the escalation by Houthi in the region. The United Arab Emirates are giving logistical and consultative support to the US military in his campaign in Yemen, said a United States official.

Saudi Arabia led the Emirates and other nations in a campaign of air attacks against the Houthi for more than six years, But he stopped After not being able to achieve any goal. The Saudi -guided coalition killed many Yemenite civilians with ammunition provided by the United States.

Unlike President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Trump delegated the authority to hit goals to regional and local commanders, allowing them to attack Houthi sites in a faster and more efficient way, the commanders say.

Houthi officials say that the strikes hit residential areas and buildings in the heart of the capital of Yemen, healthy, with consequent over 60 civil victims.

Second a relationship released on Thursday from AirwaysA British organization that evaluates the claims of the civil damage in the conflicts, a woman and four children were reported killed in one of the strikes on March 15th.

Many of the attacks have taken place in populated areas, which the report states that it suggests “that the Trump administration is choosing objectives that represent a more direct risk for civilians and can indicate greater tolerance to the risk of civil damages”.

A United States official declared Thursday that the Pentagon investigates all the claims of civil victims, adding that the military do everything to reduce the risks.

The first day of the new offensive, Trump declared on social media that the Houthi “conducted an relentless campaign of piracy, violence and terrorism against the American and the others, ships, planes and drones”.

Mr. Trump he said this week That the United States strikes would continue until the Houthi “are no longer a threat to freedom of navigation”. He warned “real pain has yet to come” if they didn’t stop.

On March 15, Trump also identified Iran’s sovereigns.

“In Iran: the support for terrorists Houthi must end immediately!” He wrote. “Do not threaten the American people, their president, who received one of the greatest sent in presidential history or for shipping lanes all over the world. If you do, be careful, because America will fully deepen you responsible.”

US intelligence agencies have fought to identify and identify Houthi weapons systems, which are produced in underground factories and smuggling by Iran. At the end of 2024, the Biden administration dedicated multiple surveillance aircraft to collect information on Houthi’s objectives. Trump officials also inherited the intelligence and Israel provided target information, said US officials.

Saeed al-Batati Relationships contributed by Al Mukulla, in Yemen e Julian E. Barnes from Washington.