UK and US launch missile strikes against more than a dozen targets in Yemen following surge in Houthi attacks on cargo ships

The US and Britain have launched missile strikes on more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the terrorist organization’s “increasing attacks” on cargo ships.

US and British fighter jets conducted “necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeting 18 Huthi targets in eight locations in Yemen,” the Pentagon has confirmed.

The joint operation focused on weapons storage facilities, drones, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter. and other unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.

The Houthis have carried out at least 57 attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19, and the pace has increased in recent days.

President Joe Biden and other senior leaders have repeatedly warned that the US will not tolerate Houthi attacks on commercial shipping. British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps reiterated that it is “our duty to protect lives at sea and preserve freedom of navigation.”

But the counterattacks do not appear to diminish the Houthis’ campaign against shipping in the region, which the militants say is a response to Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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

The joint operation targeted weapons storage facilities, drones, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter, and other unmanned surface and underwater vehicles. Pictured: Smoke over Sana’a, Yemen, on February 24, 2024

The US and Britain launched the counter-offensive in response to a rise in Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including a rocket attack last week that set a cargo ship on fire.

“We have certainly seen an increase in the number of attacks from the Houthis over the last 48 to 72 hours,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a briefing Thursday. And she acknowledged that the Houthis have not been deterred.

“We never said we wiped out all their capabilities,” she told reporters. “We know that the Houthis have a large arsenal. They are very capable. They have advanced weapons, and that’s because they keep getting them from Iran.”

There have been at least 32 US strikes in Yemen in the past month and a half; a few were executed with Allied involvement. In addition, U.S. warships disabled dozens of incoming missiles, rockets and drones targeting commercial and other Navy vessels.

Earlier on Saturday, the destroyer USS Mason shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Houthi-held areas in Yemen towards the Gulf of Aden, US Central Command said, adding that the missile likely targeted MV Torm Thor, a American-flagged missile. owned and operated chemical and oil tanker.

The US strikes on the Houthis targeted more than 120 launchers, more than 10 surface-to-air missiles, 40 storage and support buildings, 15 drone storage buildings, more than 20 unmanned aerial, surface and underwater vehicles, several underground storage areas and several more other facilities.

The rebels’ supreme leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, last week announced an “escalation of naval operations” carried out by his forces as part of what they described as a pressure campaign to end Israel’s war against Hamas.

But while the group says the attacks are aimed at stopping that war, the Houthis’ targets have become more indiscriminate, endangering a vital waterway for cargo and energy shipments traveling from Asia and the Middle East to Europe.

During normal operations, approximately 400 commercial vessels transit the southern Red Sea at any time. Although the Houthi attacks have actually hit only a small number of ships, the continued attacks and near misses shot down by the US and allies have prompted shipping companies to divert their ships from the Red Sea.

The U.S. Central Command released a photo on Feb. 23, 2024, of the M/V Rubymar, a Belize-flagged British bulk carrier, leaking oil into the Gulf of Aden after sustaining significant damage following an attack by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists on Feb. 18, causing an oil slick spanning 20 miles

Instead, they sent them around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope – a much longer, more expensive and less efficient passage.

The threats have also prompted the US and its allies to set up a joint mission in which warships from participating countries provide a protective umbrella of air defense for ships traveling between the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

In Thursday’s attack in the Gulf of Aden, the Houthis fired two missiles at a Palau-flagged cargo ship called Islander, according to Central Command. A European naval force in the region said the attack caused a fire and injured a sailor aboard the ship, although the ship continued on its way.

The Central Command launched strikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen on Friday, destroying seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that the military said it was preparing to launch towards the Red Sea.

The Central Command also said Saturday that a Houthi attack on a Belize-flagged ship on Feb. 18 caused an oil slick stretching 30 kilometers and the military warned of the danger of a spill from the ship’s fertilizer cargo.

The Rubymar, a British-registered, Lebanese-operated cargo ship, was attacked as it transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The missile attack forced the crew to abandon the ship, which was headed to Bulgaria after leaving the United Arab Emirates. It carried more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer, according to a statement from the Central Command.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government has called on other countries and maritime protection organizations to quickly address the oil spill and prevent “a significant environmental disaster.”

This is a development story. Check back for updates.