By AP
The United States and the United Kingdom attacked 18 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday in response to a recent increase in the number of attacks carried out by the Iran-backed militant group against ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, including an attack missile attack carried out last week that set a cargo ship on fire.
According to US officials, US and British warplanes attacked sites in eight locations, targeting missiles, missile launchers, rockets, drones and air defense systems.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide early details of an ongoing military operation.
This is the fourth time the US and British militaries have launched a combined operation against the Houthis since January 12.
But the United States has also carried out almost daily attacks against Houthi targets, including missiles and drones aimed at ships, as well as weapons prepared to be launched.
[USA. launches a series of airstrikes against pro-Iran targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the death of three soldiers]
The US F/A-18 fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is currently in the Red Sea, according to authorities.
“The United States will not hesitate to take action, as necessary, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways,” said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“We will continue to make it clear to the Houthis that they will face consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks.”
The Houthis denounced the “American and British” aggression and promised to maintain their military operation in retaliation.
"The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm that they will confront the US and British escalation with higher quality military operations against all hostile targets in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea in defense of our country, our people and our nation," they indicated in a statement. release.
The United States, the United Kingdom and other allies said in a statement that “necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets in eight locations in Yemen,” which also included underground storage facilities, radars and helicopters.
The attacks are supported by a broader coalition, comprising Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
[Iran threatens to respond if the US retaliates for the attack in Jordan: “We are not afraid of war”]
US President Joe Biden and other senior officials have repeatedly warned that the United States will not tolerate Houthi attacks on commercial vessels.
But the counterattacks do not appear to have slowed the Houthis' campaign against ships in the region, which the militants say are in retaliation for Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have launched at least 57 attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since Nov. 19, and the pace has increased in recent days.
There have been at least 32 US strikes in Yemen in the last 45 days;
some were carried out with the participation of allies.
Additionally, U.S. warships have shot down dozens of missiles, rockets and drones targeting Navy and commercial ships.
Early Saturday, the destroyer USS Mason shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the Gulf of Aden, U.S. Central Command said, adding that the missile was likely targeting the MV Torm Thor, an American tanker carrying chemicals and oil.
The rebels' supreme leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, last week announced “an escalation in maritime operations” carried out by his forces as part of what they describe as a pressure campaign to end the war between Israel and Hamas.
But although the group assures that the attacks are aimed at stopping the war, the Houthis' targets are increasingly random and put at risk an essential sea route for transporting energy from Asia and the Middle East to Europe.
In normal operations, about 400 commercial ships transit the Red Sea at any given time.
Although Houthi attacks have only damaged a small number of vessels, persistent attacks and attempts that have been thwarted by the United States and its allies have caused shipping companies to follow routes other than the Red Sea.