President Barack Obama authorised the Navy counter-offensive with multiple Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles launched from the USS Nitze around 4am local time Thursday, The Pentagon confirmed.
The retaliatory action comes after the US Navy’s guided missile destroyer USS Mason was fired upon from Houthi-held territory Wednesday after avoiding damage in two similar attempts within an hour on October 9.
UK-based maritime security specialist Dryad Maritime told Seatrade Maritime News in the wake of that incident that commercial shipping transiting the Bab al Mandeb Strait, a 30km wide chokepoint at the foot of the Red Sea, was in danger of becoming “collateral damage” in the Yemeni conflict.
Houthi rebels, who are battling government forces in a bloody civil war, claimed responsibility for an October 1 missile strike on the UAE high-speed “civilian” catamaran HSV-2 Swift, reportedly transporting aid, wounded Yemenis and passengers near Yemen’s Red Sea Port of Mokha, wounding crew. 
President Obama authorised the strikes at the recommendation of US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
"These limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway," Cook said.
“The United States will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic, as appropriate, and will continue to maintain our freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, the Bab al Mandeb Strait, and elsewhere around the world.”
The bombed radar stations were near Ras Isa, north of Mukha and near Khoka, in Yemen, USA Today reports. The Pentagon said the radar sites were active during the launches of cruise missiles at the USS Mason on Wednesday.
A defense official said the USS Mason “employed onboard defensive measures” against the first suspected cruise missile attack on October 9, firing three missiles to defend itself and the USS Ponce, an amphibious transport docking vessel. It came amid local media reports that Houthi deployed skiffs to guide the missile operators from Yemen’s shores.
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