Yemeni Officials Confirm US and British Strikes Against Houthis

(VORNews) – In response to the movement’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Britain and the United States launched strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen.

A dramatic regional expansion of the Israel-Hamas conflict resulted from the strikes.

Witnesses in Yemen confirmed explosions throughout the country to Reuters late on Thursday, prompting President Joe Biden to caution that he would not hesitate to take further action if necessary.

“This targeted strike sends a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to impede freedom of navigation,” Biden said.

The British Ministry of Defence stated in a statement that “early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping has been dealt a blow.”

Iran, which backs the Houthis, has vehemently condemned the assault. A Houthi representative stated that there was no justification for the strikes and that the organization would continue to target ships moving towards Israel.

Russia said that it has sought an immediate meeting of the United Nations Security Council to address the military attacks. The Houthis claim their strikes on Red Sea commercial lines are in favor of the Palestinians and Hamas, the Islamist party that administers Gaza.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is in the hospital due to surgical problems, said in a statement that the attacks targeted Houthi assets like drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, coastal radar, and air surveillance.

A Houthi spokesperson acknowledged “raids” in the capital Sanaa, the cities of Saada and Dhamar, and the Hodeidah governorate, labeling them “American-Zionist-British aggression.”

Witnesses told Reuters that the strikes targeted a military camp near Sanaa airport, a military site near Taiz airport, a Houthi naval station in Hodeidah, and military locations in Hajjah province.

Yemen Houthis Fears of Escalation

The United States stated that Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands backed the operation and that the strikes were part of an international effort to restore free trade on a critical route between Europe and Asia that contributes to roughly 15% of global maritime traffic.

However, the attacks, the first on Yemeni soil since 2016, were irrefutable evidence of Washington’s attempt to limit the impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East since it erupted in October. Although Washington said there was no purpose to increase tensions, the Houthis have pledged to strike against any attack.

“The concern is that this could escalate,” said Andreas Krieg of King’s College in London, warning of the possibility that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will be sucked into the conflict. Saudi Arabia issued a statement calling for moderation and “avoiding escalation” following the attacks.

The US also accused Iran of playing an operational role in the Houthi strikes in the Red Sea, supplying military assets and information to carry them out. “We believe that they have certainly been involved in every phase of this,” a senior US official told reporters. Aircraft, ships, and submarines carried out the strikes.

A separate US official stated that more than a dozen targets were attacked and that the attacks were designed to undermine the Houthis’ military capabilities rather than be just symbolic. “We were going after very specific capability in very specific locations with precision munitions,” a US military officer explained.

The Houthis, who control the majority of Yemen, disregarded UN and other international appeals to cease their missile and drone strikes on Red Sea commercial lanes, as well as warnings from the US about the repercussions if they did not do so.

The Houthi strikes have affected international business, forcing ships to take the lengthy way around South Africa to avoid being hit. The rise in delivery costs is fueling worries that it may spark a new round of global inflation.

Following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were murdered and 240 were kidnapped, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza, killing over 23,000 Palestinians.

MISSILES THAT ARE ANTI-SHIP BALLISTIC

The United States military said that the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile into international maritime channels in the Gulf of Aden only hours before the United States and Britain launched their operations in Yemen. This came two days after the Houthis launched their biggest offensive yet.

U.S. and British naval forces intercepted and destroyed 21 Houthi missiles and drones on January 9. The United States military used terminology similar to that used when describing attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq by the Taliban or Islamic State; it was a complicated strike.

Biden claimed in his address that American ships were the intended targets of the Jan. 9 attack by the Houthis. Some Democrats under Biden voiced worry that the United States may become involved in another conflict lasting decades, while prominent Republicans in Congress praised the decision.

Restoring deterrence in the Red Sea was the goal of this strike, which was delayed by two months,” stated U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, the leading Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

U.S. officials believed that by taking these and other diplomatic and military measures, they might stop the Houthi attacks without igniting a new conflict. More than twenty nations joined a defense coalition led by the United States in December to protect commercial traffic in the Red Sea, an operation dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian.

U.S. and British strikes, however, are happening independently of that alliance. “The response of the international community to these reckless attacks has been united and resolute,” stated Biden.

(Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali of the Washington Bureau contributed to the story; Andrew Mills of Doha and Maher Hatem of Dubai also contributed; Jeff Mason, Kanishka Singh, and Eric Beech of the Washington Bureau; Don Durfee, Cynthia Osterman, and Raju Gopalakrishnan of the editing bureau)

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