The U.S. military continues strikes in attempts to deter Houthi fighters in Yemen

The U.S. military is trying to put an end to attacks by Houthi fighters in Yemen

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Missiles are flying into and out of Yemen today. The U.S. military is trying to put an end to attacks by Houthi fighters in Yemen who were targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea. NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre is covering this story. Hey, Greg.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: What’s the latest on these reports of renewed fighting in Yemen?

MYRE: Yeah, the U.S. Navy struck before dawn, and it says it destroyed four Houthi ballistic missiles that were intended for use against commercial ships in the Red Sea. Now, this information is coming from a U.S. defense official, and this marks the third such U.S. strike since last week. However, the U.S. official acknowledged that, hours after the U.S. strike, the Houthis did manage to successfully launch a missile, and it hit a Greek-owned commercial ship. The ship suffered limited damage. None of the crew was hurt. The vessel remained seaworthy, and it carried on with its journey in the Red Sea.

SHAPIRO: Right now, the U.S. and the Houthis are firing these missiles at some distance from each other. What’s the risk of escalation?

MYRE: Well, there clearly are risk (ph), and we got a sense of that today from a separate incident. We’re just getting the details today. But last Thursday, the U.S. Navy forces staged a nighttime raid, and they boarded a sailing ship, a dhow, in the waters off the coast of Somalia. The U.S. military says it found components for ballistic missiles and cruise missiles made by Iran and headed for the Houthis in Yemen. And during this operation, one U.S. Navy SEAL fell into the rough waters. Another jumped in and tried to save him. This is according to U.S. military officials, who say that both of those Navy SEALs are still missing.

SHAPIRO: Is there any evidence that these strikes by the U.S. and the U.K. have deterred the Houthis in…