US, Britain carry out strikes against Houthis in Yemen
WASHINGTON: The United States and Britain carried out strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen overnight in response to the movement’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea, a regional widening of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Witnesses in Yemen confirmed explosions throughout the country, saying raids targeted a military base adjacent to Sanaa airport, a military site near Taiz airport, a Houthi naval base in Hodeidah and military sites in Hajjah governorate.
“These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Britain’s defence ministry said in a statement that “early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow.” James Heappey, a junior defence minister, said the strikes were in self-defence and no further action was planned for now.
A Houthi military spokesperson said 73 strikes had killed five of the group’s fighters and wounded six others. The attacks would not go without “punishment or retaliation” and the group will continue to target ships headed for Israel, he said.
The Houthis, an armed movement that took control of most of Yemen over the past decade, have been attacking shipping at the mouth of the Red Sea – one of the world’s busiest trade lanes – since October. They said the action is in support of Hamas.
The United States and allies have deployed a naval task force to the area to protect ships, and US and British warships had shot down 21 drones and missiles to repel the biggest Houthi attack so far.
Iran condemned the US and British attacks. A Houthi spokesperson said there was no justification for the attacks.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is in hospital due to surgery complications, said in a statement that the strikes targeted Houthi drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, costal radar and air surveillance.
A Houthi official confirmed “raids” in the capital Sanaa along with the cities of Saada and Dhamar as well as in Hodeidah governorate, calling them “American-Zionist-British aggression.”
The Houthi attacks have disrupted international commerce, forcing some ships to take the long route around southern Africa, an increase in delivery costs and time that stoked fears of a new bout of global inflation.
The price of oil rose sharply on concern that supplies could be disrupted. Brent crude rose $2. The US said Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands supported the operation, part of an international effort to restore the free flow of trade.
The strikes, the first by the United States on Yemeni territory since 2016, is a clear demonstration of Washington’s struggle contain the fallout of the Israel-Hamas war since it broke out in October.
The strikes on Yemen were carried out by aircraft, ship and submarine. A US official said more than a dozen locations were targeted and the strikes were intended to weaken the Houthis’ military capabilities, as opposed to being just symbolic.
The Houthis have defied a call by the United Nations to halt their missile and drone attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and warnings from the United States of consequences if they failed to do so.