The United States and Britain have bombed more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen after an escalation in attacks by the Iranian-backed armed group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
This is the fourth joint action taken by the UK and the US in an attempt to deter attacks by the group on ships, including a missile strike this week that set a cargo ship on fire.
According to US officials, US and British fighter jets struck about 18 sites in multiple locations, targeting missiles, launchers, missiles, drones, and unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.
The American fighters took off from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, located in the Red Sea.
US President Joe Biden He ordered the strikes after being briefed on the targets on Friday.
An RAF Typhoon FGR4, forward, and an RAF Voyager took off to carry out the strikes. Photo: Ministry of Defence
Biden has repeatedly warned that the United States will not tolerate Houthi attacks against commercial shipping.
But the counterattacks do not appear to have diminished the Houthi campaign against shipping in the region, which the hardliners say is related to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Al Masirah TV, the main news outlet run by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, said on Saturday that US and British forces carried out nine air strikes in the capital, Sanaa.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the British strikes were carried out by four Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 aircraft supported by two Voyager tankers.
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From February 2024: A US naval ship fires on Houthi targets
The Ministry of Defense said: “Intelligence analysis succeeded in identifying several long-range drones, used by the Houthis for reconnaissance and attack missions, at a former site of a surface-to-air missile battery several miles northeast of Sanaa.”
“Our aircraft used Paveway IV precision-guided bombs against the drones and their launchers.”
The MoD said previous RAF strikes, on January 11 and February 3, destroyed “a number of buildings used to support” Houthi cruise missile operations.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps posted on X after the strikes: “It is our duty to protect lives at sea and maintain freedom of navigation.
“That is why the Royal Air Force has engaged in a fourth wave of precision strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen.
“We have worked alongside our allies to increase the destruction of Houthi drones and launchers used to launch their dangerous attacks. I thank the brave British personnel involved for their service.”
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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said that the United States and the United Kingdom received support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand in carrying out the strikes.
He said eight sites were targeted, including underground Houthi weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, unidirectional attack unmanned aerial systems, and air defense systems.
The United States carries out almost daily strikes without British support to eliminate Houthi targets, including incoming missiles and drones targeting ships, in addition to weapons that were ready to be launched.
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From November 2023: Houthis seize an “Israel-linked” ship in the Red Sea
The Houthis have launched at least 57 attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19, and the pace of the attack has accelerated in recent days.
“We have certainly seen over the last 48 or 72 hours an increase in Houthi attacks,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a press conference on Thursday. She admitted that the Houthis were not deterred.
“We never said we wiped all their capabilities off the map,” she told reporters.
“We know that the Houthis maintain a large arsenal. They are very capable. They have advanced weapons, and that is because they continue to get them from Iran.”
