In a joint effort, the United States and the United Kingdom conducted fresh airstrikes on eight targets linked to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday night. The strikes, marking the eighth round of allied attacks in the past 12 days, aimed to thwart the Houthi group’s harassment of commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
Key Points:
•The airstrikes targeted an underground storage site and locations associated with the Houthis’ “missile and air surveillance capabilities,” according to a joint statement from the US and UK, along with partners Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands.
•The statement emphasized that the precision strikes were designed to “disrupt and degrade” the Houthi capabilities threatening global trade and the safety of maritime traffic.
•The Houthis, in response to the airstrikes, claimed that “American-British forces are launching raids on the capital of Sanaa” and other parts of Yemen. Houthi TV outlet al-Masirah reported that four strikes targeted the Al-Dailami military base north of the capital.
•These airstrikes were part of a series of attacks since the initial wave of missile and Tomahawk launches on January 12, responding to Houthi actions that disrupted global shipping and trade through the Red Sea.
•Earlier on the same day, the Houthis asserted they had fired on a US military cargo ship off the Yemen coast.
•The Houthi attacks, initiated in protest of Israel’s actions in Gaza, and the subsequent allied response have raised concerns about the potential escalation of the conflict and the involvement of the US in a wider regional war.
A significant development earlier on Monday involved the presumption of death for two US Navy SEALs who went missing during a mission on January 11. The mission aimed to seize Iranian weapons destined for the Houthis. President Joe Biden acknowledged that the previous strikes had not achieved the intended effect.
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