US, UK Forces Again Target Houthis in Yemen in Response to Red Sea Attacks – News18

US and British forces carried out strikes against more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday. This is the latest round of military action against the Iran-linked outfit that continues to attack shipping in the region.

The United States has previously carried strikes against the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and say their attacks on shipping are, which have upset global trade and raised shipping rates, are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza.

18 Houthi targets

A joint statement from countries that backed strikes, said the military action was against 18 Houthi targets across eight locations in Yemen including underground weapons and missile storage facilities, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter. Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand supported the strikes.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes were meant “to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia.”

“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,” Austin said.

Strikes in Sanaa

The main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement said on Saturday that US and UK forces carried out a series of strikes in the capital, Sanaa. Earlier this week the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on a U.S. destroyer, and they targeted Israel’s port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones. The group’s strikes are disrupting the vital Suez Canal shortcut that accounts for about 12% of global maritime traffic, forcing a longer, more expensive route around Africa.

So far, no ships have been sunk nor crew killed during the Houthi campaign. However, there are concerns about the fate of the UK-registered Rubymar cargo vessel, which was struck on Feb. 18 and its crew evacuated. The US military has said the Rubymar was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was hit, which could spill into the Red Sea and cause an environmental disaster. The European Union has launched a naval mission to the Red Sea “to restore and safeguard freedom of navigation”. Last year, the United States launched a parallel coalition, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to safeguard commercial traffic from attacks by the Houthis.

(With agency inputs)