US, UK hit over 36 Houthi targets in Yemen day after strikes in Iraq, Syria
The US and UK have launched massive strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen from air and surface platforms, including fighter jets, with the support of several other countries.
Media reports said more than 30 targets, including command and control, were struck across at least 10 locations. The development comes on the second day of major US operations against Iran-linked groups following a deadly attack on American troops last weekend.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza. However, the US and its allies characterise them as indiscriminate and a menace to global trade.
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The United States and Britain launched strikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, in the second day of major US operations against Iran-linked groups following a deadly attack on American troops last weekend. The strikes hit buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities the Houthis have used to attack Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said, adding it targeted 13 locations across the country.
The United States said Sunday’s strikes had support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The US military’s Central Command said that beyond missile capabilities, the strikes targeted drone storage and operations sites, radars and helicopters.
Following the fresh strikes, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels.”
Despite the strikes against Iran-linked groups, the Pentagon has said it does not want war with Iran and does not believe Tehran wants war either. US Republicans have been ratcheting up pressure on Democratic President Joe Biden to deal a blow to Iran directly.
On the collective strikes, UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps, in a statement, said, “The Royal Air Force engaged in a third wave of proportionate and targeted strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. We acted alongside our US allies, with the support of many international partners, in self-defense and in accordance with international law.”
“This is not an escalation. We have already successfully targeted launchers and storage sites involved in Houthi attacks, and I am confident that our latest strikes have further degraded the Houthis’ capabilities,” Shapps added.
On Friday, the US carried out the first wave of that retaliation, striking in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militias it backs, reportedly killing nearly 40 people.
While Washington accuses Iran-backed militias of attacking US troops at bases in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, Yemen’s Iran-linked Houthis have been regularly targeting commercial ships and warships in the Red Sea. Biden’s emerging strategy on Yemen aims to weaken the Houthi terrorists but stops well short of trying to defeat the group or directly address Iran. The strategy blends limited military strikes and sanctions and appears aimed at punishing the Houthis while limiting the risk of a wider Middle East conflict.
In a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the attacks in Iraq and Syria represented “another adventurous and strategic mistake by the United States that will result only in increased tension and instability”.
Iraq summoned the US charge d’affaires in Baghdad to deliver a formal protest after strikes in that country.
A Houthi-run Yemeni News Agency said the US and Britain launched 14 raids on Saturday on the governorates of Taiz and Hodeidah. Eleven of the attacks targeted the Al-Barah area in the Maqbanah District and areas in the Haifan District, a security source told the news agency. The other three attacks targeted Jabal Al-Jada’ in Al-Lahiya District and the Al-Salif District in Al-Hudaydah Governorate.
Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi movement said on Friday it fired ballistic missiles at targets in the Israeli city of Eilat and threatened to keep up military operations until Israel ended its offensive in Gaza. The Israeli military earlier said its “Arrow” aerial defence system had intercepted a surface-to-surface missile in the Red Sea area on Friday.
Houthis have launched a series of attacks on shipping and other targets in the Red Sea area in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians – stoking fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.