US and UK target Houthi positions in Yemen to safeguard maritime commerce

The US and Britain conducted new strikes against Yemen’s Houthi positions in the capital Sana’a in response to increased Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. EPA

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Forces from the US and the UK, supported by a coalition including Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand launched a series of precision air strikes on Saturday in a strategic move to counter the escalating threat to international shipping posed by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

According to the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), this operation saw the deployment of four RAF Typhoon FGR4s, assisted by two Voyager tankers, targeting Houthi military facilities responsible for recent missile and drone attacks on commercial and coalition naval vessels in key maritime corridors.

The strikes were aimed at “Houthi military facilities in Yemen which had been conducting missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping and coalition naval forces in the Bab Al Mandeb, southern Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden,” as detailed by the MoD.

British Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps said the military action was aimed at “further degrading Houthi drones and launchers used to mount their dangerous attacks.”

Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen’s Houthi movement, said on Saturday that US and UK forces carried out a total of nine air strikes in the capital, Sanaa.

The military action targeted 18 Houthi targets across eight locations, focusing on “underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defence systems, radars, and a helicopter,” according to a joint statement.

“These strikes are intended to degrade Houthi capability and disrupt their continued reckless and unlawful attacks on international commercial and US and UK vessels,” the statement added.

“The goal of this multinational effort is to defend ourselves, our partners, and allies in the region and restore freedom of navigation by destroying Houthi capabilities used to threaten US and partner forces in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways.

“These strikes are separate and distinct from the multinational freedom of navigation actions performed under Operation Prosperity Guardian”.

Apart from the joint operations with Britain, the US has also carried out repeated unilateral strikes against Houthi positions and weaponry in Yemen, claiming self-defence, and has downed air and seaborne drones in the Red Sea.

These efforts are part of an continuing campaign to dismantle the Houthi’s capability to disrupt maritime traffic and pose a threat to regional security and the global economy.

The coalition’s statement highlighted the gravity of the situation, saying: “The Houthis had staged more than 45 attacks on commercial and naval vessels since mid-November, which threatened the global economy, as well as regional security and stability.”

The operation on Saturday specifically targeted facilities where the Houthis have staged drones and missiles used in their maritime assaults.

In addressing the precision of the strikes, the MoD noted: “Our aircraft used Paveway IV precision guided bombs against the drones and their launchers, notwithstanding the Houthis’ use of the old missile battery revetments to try to protect the drones.”

Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin echoed the coalition’s commitment to regional stability.

He said: “The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways.

“We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks, which harm Middle Eastern economies, cause environmental damage, and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries.”