U.S., UK strike dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen

U.S., UK strike dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen | Daily Tribune

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US and the United Kingdom struck dozens of targets in Yemen on Saturday in response to repeated attacks on shipping by Iran-backed Houthi rebels that have disrupted global trade and put lives at risk.

The Houthis said Sunday the air strikes “will not deter us” and vowed a response after dozens of targets were hit in retaliation for the Iran-backed rebels’ repeated Red Sea attacks.

It is the third time that British and American forces have jointly targeted the Houthis, whose attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in war-battered Gaza have disrupted global trade.

The US has also carried out a series of air raids against the Yemeni rebels on its own, but their attacks on the vital Red Sea trade route have persisted.

Saturday’s strikes hit “36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen in response to the Houthis’ continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea,” the US, Britain and other countries that provided support for the operation said in a statement.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes “are intended to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia to conduct their reckless and destabilizing attacks.”

Neither Austin nor the joint statement identified the specific places that were hit, but Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the capital Sanaa and other rebel-held areas were targeted.

Meeting ‘escalation with escalation’

Britain’s Defense Ministry said Royal Air Force Typhoon warplanes struck targets including two ground control stations used to operate both attack and reconnaissance drones.

Separately, US Central Command or CENTCOM said its forces carried out a strike against a Houthi anti-ship missile “prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea” early Sunday morning after deeming it “presented an imminent threat” against military and commercial vessels in the area.

That strike came after CENTCOM said they had earlier Saturday also launched strikes against six other Houthi anti-ship missiles and that on Friday US forces had shot down eight drones in and near Yemen, and destroyed four more before they could be launched.

The Houthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

US and UK forces responded with strikes against the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

Houthi spokesperson Nasr al-Din Amer said following the Saturday strikes that “either there is peace for us, Palestine and Gaza, or there is no peace and no safety for you in our region.”