The US and British militaries have bombed eight locations used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, the second time the allies have conducted co-ordinated retaliatory strikes on the rebels' missile-launching capabilities.
According to officials, the US and UK used warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets to take out Houthi missile storage sites and launchers.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands contributed to the mission, including with intelligence and surveillance.
In a joint statement, the six allied nations said the strikes on Monday specifically targeted a Houthi underground storage site and locations associated with the Houthis’ missile and air surveillance capabilities.
“Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats,” the statement said.
Britain’s defence ministry said four Royal Air Force Typhoon jets struck “multiple targets at two military sites in the vicinity of Sanaa airfield” with precision-guided bombs.
The strikes, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said, were “aimed at degrading Houthi capabilities” and would “deal another blow to their limited stockpiles and ability to threaten global trade”.
The joint operation comes about 10 days after US and British warships and fighter jets struck more than 60 targets in 28 locations.
That was the first US military response to what has been a persistent campaign of Houthi drone and missile attacks on commercial ships since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run news channel, said there were air raids on three areas of Yemen's capital, Sanaa: al-Dailami Air Base just north of the capital, Sarif, northeast of the city centtr, and al-Hafa, which is south of Sanaa.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke with President Joe Biden earlier on Monday.
Sunak’s office said the two leaders agreed to take “as needed, targeted military action to degrade Houthi capabilities”.
The latest allied attacks marks the eighth time the US has struck Houthi sites since January 12.
It follows an almost-daily assault on Houthi missile launchers by US fighter jets and ship-based Tomahawks in the past week.
The wave of attacks and reprisals involving the US, its allies and foes suggests the retaliatory strikes have not deterred the Houthis from their campaign against Red Sea shipping, and that the broader regional war the US has spent months trying to avoid is becoming closer to reality.
For months, the Houthis have attacked ships in the region’s waterways that they claim are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports.
They say their attacks aim to end the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel.
The US and allies warned of retaliation for weeks, and the White House and partner nations issued a final warning to the Houthis on January 3.
The continued harassment of the ships has driven the US and international partners to take extraordinary steps to defend them through Operation Prosperity Guardian, in which they provide a protective umbrella for vessels travelling the critical waterway that runs from the Suez Canal down to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
About 400 commercial vessels transit the southern Red Sea at any given time, and the ongoing violence has prompted companies to reroute their ships, sending them around Africa through the Cape of Good Hope instead - a much longer and less efficient passage.
Reuters and AP
