Houthi underground storage and missile and surveillance capabilities between targets of recent attacks.
The United States and Britain have carried out new attacks targeting the Houthis in Yemen, as Iranian-aligned militants continue to target commercial ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have attacked dozens of ships in major waterways since November, disrupting international maritime trade and raising concerns about the impact on the global economy.
On Monday, the United States and Britain, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, announced eight attacks targeting the Houthis’ underground storage facilities and missile and surveillance capabilities.
“These precision strikes are aimed at disrupting and reducing the ability of the Houthis to use them to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent seafarers,” the joint statement said.
The Houthis say the attack is a response to Israel’s war in Gaza and a show of support for the Palestinians.
According to the UK Ministry of Defense, insurgents have carried out more than 30 attacks on international shipping since mid-November.
It said the attack on Houthi positions was aimed at “responsible for illegal and unjustified attacks on seafarers and commercial vessels” and to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea.”
Monday’s airstrike came after the Houthis claimed a successful attack on the US military cargo ship Ocean Jazz in the Gulf of Aden.
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command denied the claim as “patently false” and said it “maintained continuous communications with the M/V Ocean Jazz during its safe transit.”
The Houthis have not said when the attack took place, where exactly it took place, or whether any damage was caused.
“The Yemeni military is adamant that retaliation for the American and British attacks is inevitable and that no new aggression will go unpunished,” the group said in a statement.
British maritime security company Ambry said the ship, which the Houthis named on Monday, was contracted to the U.S. military.
longer route
Both the US and UK militaries launched attacks against Houthi forces on January 11, a day after the UN Security Council condemned in the “strongest terms” rebel attacks on Red Sea ships and called for an end to them. It started.
The Houthis began targeting commercial ships on November 19, when they seized the Japanese-operated Galaxy Leader and took it to the port of Hodeidah. The ship’s 25-member multinational crew, many of them Filipinos, have since been detained.
Yemeni groups say the Red Sea attack is part of support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who have been under attack by Israeli forces for more than three months.
More than 25,000 people were killed, according to Palestinian officials in the territory.
Israel launched its attack on Gaza after Hamas fighters carried out a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people, according to Al Jazeera’s death toll based on official Israeli statistics. did. Approximately 240 others were taken as prisoners of war during the attack.
So far, Houthi activity has been concentrated in the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea. Approximately 50 ships sail through the strait each day, traveling to and from the Suez Canal, a key artery of global maritime trade.
Some of the world’s biggest shipping companies have suspended operations in the region and instead sent ships on long-distance routes around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, slowing trade between Asia and Europe.