U.S. sets up new Mideast naval task force amid strained Gulf ties

FILE PHOTO: Rear Admiral Brad Cooper, Expeditionary Strike Group 7 Commander, speaks to media inside the USS Wasp (LHD 1) amphibious assault carrier during their operation in the waters off Japan's southernmost island of Okinawa March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Wednesday it was establishing a new multinational task force that would target arms smuggling in the waters around Yemen, the latest American military response to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The effort follows a series of Houthi missile and drone attacks this year on the two Gulf countries, which have since received additional American military assistance but see the United States as weakening its commitment to the region.